Levi Mertz and Charles Mochel built the original structure at 36 S Main, later renumbered 5122 Main Street, and opened Mertz and Mochel there on June 25, 1884. The building had a basement and two stories with wood columns, beams, and floors, and alleys bordered it on the south and west. Electricity was added in 1900. In 1922, Mertz sold his interest to Charles Mochel, who formed Charles Mochel and Son with his son John Mochel Sr.; that same year, closing the alley to the south allowed the building's first expansion. A 1932 facelift created the storefront seen today. After Charles died in 1946, John Sr. renamed the business Mochels Hardware, and a 1955 expansion doubled the building in size by extending the main and second floors over a newly excavated basement addition to the west alley. John Mochel Jr. became his father's partner in 1957. In 1950, one year after the store's 75th anniversary, John Sr. died, and John Jr. became sole proprietor until the business closed in 1995 after 111 years of serving Downers Grove and neighboring towns. It was the only centennial business on Main Street in Downers Grove, and the building stood for three generations of Mochels whose work in local government, civic organizations, and community service influenced the village's development for more than a century.