The Sun, dated March 14, 1881, reported that George Frederick was the architect of the Nicholas Popplein house at the corner of Eutaw Place and Wilson Street on a lot with 230' frontage.  The house was a massive 24-room brick mansion 60'6" wide by 64" deep with a rear extension. 

Popplein was a wealthy paint manufacturer and a local leader in the area's development who owned Eutaw Place from McMechen all the way to Laurens Street. Unfortunately, Popplein died at home in 1885, shortly after construction of the new mansion was complete.

His estate sold the mansion in the spring of 1901 to Dr. Thomas Shearer, a local specialist in homeopathy. An adjoining lot at the corner of Eutaw Place and Wilson Street sold to William Cochran in 1905. The two proposed to combine their investments and construct the Marlborough Apartment House, designed by architect Edward Glidden, which stands there today.