This house was built for Adam Mock in 1886. The architect was Jacob Luippold. He was a German-American (who lived nearby on Mozart Street and built 27 buildings in JP for German-American clients). Adam Mock was a German-American businessman who had a liquor business downtown. Clearly, he did well for himself as he could afford to build this lovely home.
It is a Queen Anne style house. Queen Anne architecture was a reaction to the Industrial Revolution and its practitioners advocated a return to handcrafted elements. Queen Anne houses bring in all sorts of elements and combine them in unusual ways, making them very eclectic. Queen Anne houses are asymmetrical and therefore quirky. Note how this house has the porch steps set in a diagonal on the sides of the house. The peak of the roof has terra cotta cresting and there are different materials on the face of the house providing interest and contrast (clapboards and various types of shingles).
Adam Mock also built the adjoining commercial blocks (370-372 and 374-376 Centre Street). If you look up just below the roof as you round the corner you will still see the “M” for Mock up on the roof of the building.
From these few stops you get the character of Sheridan Street and the Hyde Square neighborhood. Here were African-Americans, Irish-Americans and German-Americans all living together in close quarters.