1055 3rd Ave

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This photo of the building on the southwest corner of 3rd Avenue and 11th Street
 shows it with signs identifying it as the home of D.C. Crutcher & Co.,
a clothing firm. Unfortunately, the photo is undated.

The Herald-Dispatch

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HUNTINGTON — For more than 50 years, a three-story brick building at 1055 3rd Ave. —
on the southwest corner of 3rd Avenue and 11th Street — housed a series of retail
 businesses, including three different grocery stores, along with
a dozen apartments on the second and third floors.

It’s not clear when the building was built or who built it. For years,
the building’s rental apartments were known as the Molter
 Flats. That suggests the builder’s name was Molter.

The 1895-’96 Huntington City Directory lists Walter C. Molter and
Louis Molter as the operators of a bakery at 831 3rd Ave.
Were they father and son or perhaps brothers? Could
one or both have been responsible for erecting
the 1055 building? After so many year,
 there’s no way of knowing.

The Herald-Dispatch archives include a photo of the 1055 building
 with signs identifying it as the home of D.C. Crutcher & Co.,
a clothing firm. Unfortunately, the photo is undated.

The 1916 and 1917 directories list the Faultless Cloak and
Suit Co., operated by Ray Levine, at the 1055 address.

In 1921, the Liberty Cash Market opened in the building and continued
 there until 1928. An A&P grocery briefly followed the Liberty
 Market. Then, in 1943, the building became the long-time
 home of the Choice Model Market. Over the years, the
 Choice Model store had three different owners,
but the store’s name remained the
same until it closed in 1965.

In 1966, the Uniform Center became the last business to occupy
 the 1055 building. In 1971, Herold Frankel purchased it and
all the other buildings on the south side of the 1000 block
of 3rd Avenue, demolishing them to make way for
 construction of his downtown Holiday Inn.

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Note:  This Article and picture appeared in the Herald-Dispatch Newspaper on Aug. 22, 2023.

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