J.A. Noble was a clothier who specialized in men's clothing. Mister Noble himself was a hard worker who arrived in Newport without capital eight years previous and worked his way from store clerk to the owner of the largest and most respected clothing outlet in Newport.
He apparently had owned the J.A. Noble store prior to the completion of the Bobier building, as we found another advertisement of his which was published before the building was ready to receive tenants. Shortly after moving into the bobier, Mr. Noble placed the ad seen below on page 8 (the back page) of the November 28, 1912 issue of the
Newport Miner.
The Bobier Building was built specifically to house such a retail outlet on the ground floor with offices on the upper floor. The front, including doors, was plate glass, while the interior finish was coast fir, and the show window floors were quarter-sawed oak and black walnut.
Upstairs, its first tenants were Drs. Wallace and Dodge and an attorney named Ryan. As up to date as any building in the town at the time, the offices had every convenience, including hot and cold water and steam heat.
Today the ground floor is home to a Coldwell Banker real estate outlet, while the upstairs remains offices.