Central Huntington Garage

Central Huntington Garage

Central Huntington Garage West Virginia Collection within the Carol M. Highsmith Archive, Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division
1927. 920–922 5th Ave. (north side of 5th Ave. between 9th and 10th sts.)

Architects of present-day parking structures could learn much from this building. Commercial display windows at street level, three floors of standard office windows between dark red brick walls above, colorful terra-cotta details, a green-tiled overhang, and a Mediterranean architectural flavor all seek to disguise the building's basic function. The only clue is at the eastern end, where a sign identifying it as the Central Huntington Garage tops a broad opening. Inside, behind shallow stores and offices, multilevel parking decks provide space for four hundred cars. When it opened, the garage provided a car wash, fuel, and, if requested, uniformed chauffeurs for its customers. Smart suburban businessmen who rented offices received a parking space on the same level as their place of business.

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