740 6th Ave.
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A 1971 photo shows Howard’s Food Market on the northwest
corner
of 6th Avenue and 8th Street. Built as a gasoline station in the
early 1920s, the building later housed Jeff’s Bike Shop.
In 2016, Jeff Joy built a new building for his shop
and the building at 740 6th Ave. was demolished
to make way for construction of a new Sheetz
service station and restaurant.
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In 1919, Herman Shank, a mechanic, opened
Shank’s Auto Shop at 1120 3rd Ave.,
where he sold Saxon, Mitchell
and Astor automobiles.
In the early 1920s, he organized Shank’s
Oil
Company and built gasoline stations around
town, including one on the northwest
corner of 6th Avenue
and 8th Street.
The 1941 Huntington City Directory
identified the
Canterbury Tire Co. as the occupant of the
former 6th Avenue service station,
which had a postal address of 740
8th St. The Canterbury firm
sold B.F. Goodrich tires.
Harold Russell owned a number of Freshway
(Little Giant)
grocery stores around town. When he retired (about 1970)
Howard Waldeck, who had worked for him, bought the
store at 740 6th Ave. He named it Howard’s Food
Market and operated it until 1978. During
all those years the former service station
was leased from Shank’s Oil.
The last occupant of the building at 740
6th Ave.
was Jeff’s Bike Shop, operated by Jeff Joy.
In 2016, Joy built a new building for his
shop at a
nearby site, the back of the lot at 704 6th Ave. A
wrecking crew made quick work of demolishing
the former bike shop, making way for
construction of a new Sheetz gas
station and restaurant which
opened in 2017.
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Note: This Article and picture appeared in the Herald-Dispatch Newspaper on March 12, 2024.
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