The stained glass windows were replaced after a 1907 fire. The mansion, built for the Barker family, is on the National Register of Historic Places. The original residence was enlarged to form this imposing Jacobean structure with stepped gables, finials, clustered chimney pots, and rows of casement windows. It was donated by the Barker family to the city, and offers guided tours of the interior. It is a gable-front Italianate style, of local Roeske brick.
Unusual features are the circular windows, side entry, and row of arched windows across the fa ade.
The west addition was added later. In the 1920's, the Schoenemann family lived here, and later it became Miss Dobson's Tea Room. Today it houses Wall Constructors. 707 Washington Street Washington Street was a prestigious address for the business and industrial leaders of Michigan City in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This firm, manufacturer of Hitchcock chairs, was one of the successful enterprises resulting from the rich timberlands in Northern Indiana.