THE HERSBERGER BUILDING - Linda Higgins

In 1901 Buck’s Opera House was built at 105 Madison Street, the second building from Perry Street, for about $12,000. That building, now known as the Hersberger Building, boasts a stone watertable, notable quoins, and a large arch over the entry. The arch itself has a corbelled cornice and a shaped parapet over it. It was a unique design, but the structure was built to last and last it has.

The Port Clinton High School graduation ceremonies took place there in 1901. The building then served for a time as the armory for Company M, Sixth Infantry, Ohio National Guard. After the armory moved, the structure became The Standard Garage, where George Hiram Holmes designed and produced the Holmes Little Giant tractor from 1910 to 1911. Holmes did not want to mass-produce his tractor, and in 1912 Port Clinton’s first auto-sales garage, operated by Scott Matthews of Matthews Boats, and Fred Dewitt, a local jeweler, took over the space. The town basketball team used it as a gym during the winter, when no cars were sold. The Standard Garage sign would remain above the massive central door regardless of the many occupants, including an A&P grocery located there from the 40s until 1964.

In 1936, Milton Hersberger, founder and owner of Island Airlines, “The World’s Shortest Airline” (1925-53), bought the first Ford Tri-Motor, to be used for air travel to the Lake Erie islands. The "Tin Goose" carried passengers, mail, and cargo (e.g., farm animals, appliances, groceries) to and from the islands. The plane also served as an ambulance and rescue plane, and transported the deceased, when necessary. At its top speed of 85 mph it made the 17-mile round trip in less than 45 minutes.

Hersberger and his airline became famous in the 1940s, and he served as one of the first members of the Ohio Aviation Board from 1945-1947. Then, in 1953, Hersberger sold his airline to Travelair Taxi, Inc., a subsidiary of Sandusky Airport, Inc., for $95,000. Hersberger had owned Urb's Cafe in Port Clinton since 1951, so he and his wife operated that business for the next decade.

In 1965, he bought The Standard Garage at 105-109 Madison Street, planning to remodel it to house professional business suites. Only Dr. Jack Savage had his dental office there when Hersberger’s open house was held on June 9, 1965. Subsequently, doctors, service bureaus, insurance agencies, as well as Salvation Army, Red Cross, and United Way agencies, opened offices and headquarters there. Some retail shops were located there, also. The old edifice has withstood many storms, literally and figuratively.  It was ultimately named in honor of Hersberger, who died in 1987.

The Brick House is thriving in the Hersberger Building now, the new owners having proclaimed it “a cool building that we’re trying to make even cooler.” It was not in great shape when the group of friends from their Immaculate Conception school days bought it, but they were determined to make it live again.  They have succeeded, calling it the “Crown Jewel of Madison.” The Port Clinton High School graduates (familiar names, all: Kokinda, Celek, Warnicke and Milazzo) wanted to give back to their community and have done so by having the Hersberger Building honor our local history, while filling contemporary needs.