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In 1978 Amsbary's moved to this historic building at 3rd. Ave. and 10th. Street.
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HUNTINGTON --
The name Amsbary first emerged in Huntington's retail community in 1926
when
Loren Amsbary - universally known as "Jake" - and H.L.
Johnson took over a men's
haberdashery located in a small room off the lobby of the Hotel Frederick.
The business
was something less than an overnight success. In the store's earliest years t
he
two men ran it by themselves. "We couldn't afford any help," Amsbary recalled.
But over the
years the business prospered and ultimately moved to a storefront location
at
321 10th St. Johnson retired in the early 1940s. Because of their long-time
friendship,
Amsbary retained Johnson's name on the store, even after his death.
Eventually,
the store would become simply Amsbary's. As it grew and more items
were added
to the inventory, more space was needed, so two adjacent storerooms
were leased.
By the 1970s,
the store was again short on space, so in 1978 it left its long-time location
and moved
half a block north to an historic three-story building on the corner
of 3rd Avenue and 10th Street,
last occupied by a W.T. Grant store.
Jake Amsbary died in 1986 at age 84. His sons continued operating the store until it closed a few years later.
The corner
building at 3rd Avenue and 10th Street that Amsbary's moved to was built in 1915
by early Huntington
merchant and civic leader Sam Gideon. It was designed by
Edwin Alger, one of the city's
best-known architects of the day, in the
then-popular Arts and Crafts style.
Later, in an
attempt to make the building look more modern, its many original windows
were
covered with giant wood panels.
When Dr.
Joseph B. Touma, who's restored a number of downtown properties, purchased the
building,
he removed the wood panels to return the structure's original
appearance.
Today, re-named Town Center Plaza, it's home to multiple tenants.
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Note: This Article and picture appeared in the Herald-Dispatch Newspaper on Apr. 20, 2015..
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