A neighbor emailed me today, informing me that 124 Main St. in Huntington Beach has a new owner who's "going to tear it down and rebuild. I think that building is quite old... It will be sad to see another building on Main Street go.".
The building, (home to Merrilee's Swimwear for decades now,) is historically known as the Tripp's Market Building. It was built in 1912, and yes it would be very sad to see it go. So little of historic downtown H.B. remains that every new loss is a major loss. At the very least, the facade should be preserved.
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Over the last century, this building has been home to a large number of businesses, including a number of cafes. It was also the first location of O'Barr's Drug Store in 1914. Architecturally, the Tripp's Market Building is a Western Falsefront with a Moderne stucco facade added in the early 1930s. A narrow stucco addition was added much later on the back of the lot.
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For those of you keeping score at home, yes, this building is directly across the street from 123 Main St. - another historic building which was demolished last year. (Don't worry though,... The owners put a plaque on the new building describing why the old one they demolished was significant.)
