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As the rooftop sign indicates, the Robson-Prichard Building --
later renamed the
Chafin Building -- was the long time home of Guaranity Bank & Trust Co.
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HUNTINGTON --
In its long history, the 10-story office building at 517 9th St.,
in downtown
Huntington has changed hands a number of times and had multiple names.
The
buff-colored brick and stone building was built by wealthy businessman Fred C.
Prichard and
his business partner H. A. Robson who, logically enough, named it
the Robson-Prichard Building.
Built in two stages, the first in 1909 and the
second in 1926, the narrow building fronts
for only 40 feet on 9th Street, then
extends west for nearly a block.
Prichard was
president of the Huntington Banking & Trust Co. which originally occupied the
building's first floor.
The bank failed in the Great Depression of the early
1930s, and the Western & Southern Life Insurance Co.
foreclosed on the building.
When the Guaranty Bank & Trust Co. was organized in 1939, it moved into the
former first-floor quarters of Huntington Banking & Trust. Later, Guaranty
constructed a new,
modern bank building around the corner on 5th Avenue.
In 1946,
former Logan County Sheriff Don Chafin bought the structure from Western &
Southern and renamed
it the Chafin Building. Moving to Huntington, Chafin lived
in a ranch-style penthouse he built on the building's roof.
The
Chesapeake & Ohio Railway bought the building in 1956 so it could move some
offices from its
overcrowded building at 4th Avenue and 11th Street. Later, C&O
transferred many of its jobs out of
Huntington and, in 1976, sold the building
to an out-of-town investor. After his death, his family
gave the building to the
City of Huntington in return for certain tax considerations.
In 1996, the
city turned over the building to local real estate developer John Hankins, who
pledged
to spend at least $250,000 restoring it. A new Guaranty Bank was
organized in 1999 and
took over the Chafin Building space that had been occupied
by the original Guaranty.
The new Guaranty later merged with Sentry Bank to form
First Sentry.
Today, the building's first-floor banking space is home to Fifth Third Bank.
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Note: This Article and picture appeared in the Herald-Dispatch Newspaper on Jul. 06 , 2015
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