Just the Latest Of Its Tenants

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Life comes full circle sometimes, and so blue jeans are back at the crossroads of Huntington.

When it was built in the 1880s, the three-story structure above at Main Street and New York Avenue was a dry goods and general merchandise store run by O.S. Sammis, and it's a good bet that dungarees were on the shelves. Today the denim is offered by the Gap.

Through its life, the building has been a Swezey's furniture store, a Hartmann's full-service department store and a Snappy's shoe shop. Some residents still make plans to meet at ``Hartmann's corner,'' says Mitzi Caputo of the Huntington Historical Society.

The center structure above is the George W. Conklin building, once a seed and grain store. The old photo, taken in the 1890s, shows a bell on top of the building. When it was rung, fire fighters came running -- maybe even wearing their jeans.