Hostetter was born in Ohio in 1823, and had farms in Indiana, Wisconsin and Iowa, before moving to Santa Monica in 1891. In 1893, he bought seven lots in Ocean Park at an auction in 1893 for the going rate of about $45 each. Those lots are now 2547, 2601 and 2628 Second St.; 236, 237 and 242 Beach St. and 2623 Third St. for $45 each. The house at 237 Beach is the oldest original structure in the Third Street Historic district, dating from around 1880. Hostetter Sr. chose to live next door to his son, William, and so constructed this Victorian at 2601 Second St., the second oldest house in the Third Street area.

This distinctive corner house, often called a Stick or an Eastlake Victorian, features two two-story, three-sided bay windows topped by a turreted roof on the west elevation and a gable on the north elevation. The exterior is clad in the original redwood bevel siding with decorative fishscale shingles on both the north and entry gables. Other decorative details include the turned spindles and scrolled brackets beneath the entry gable and the turned spindles along the balustrades that border the front stairs.