Tuesday, August 19, 2014

3313 - 3323 West 6th Avenue - Carolina Building

This building from 3313 to 3323 West 6th Street was built in 1926 and is called the Carolina Building, probably named after its first owner. It is one of the earliest examples of strip commercial buildings in Amarillo because it was divided into eight glass storefronts by six brick piers. Some of the businesses the building has housed were an auto paint firm, a barbershop, a beauty shop, a drug store, cafes, bakeries, a grocery store, a store fixtures company, and a meat ma...rket. Today it houses Gray's Photo & Video Studio and an antique store called The Mustard Seed. Oops! I have just learned The Mustard Seed has recently relocated.

The store fixtures company was called the Southwestern Store Fixture Company and was located at the 3313 address, where Gray's Studio is today. The meat market was called Bridges Meat Market and was located on the corner at the 3323 address, where The Mustard Seed was until recently. You can see the name Bridges Meat Market written on the back of the building at the 3323 address.

The owner of Bridges Meat Market was a Robert H. Bridges, who was born in 1887 and came to Amarillo in about 1903. When Mr. Bridges died in 1972 at the age of 85, his children took over the business. Below is a link to information on one of Mr. Bridges' sons, who was also named Robert Howard Bridges, but went by the name Howard, probably to avoid confusing him with his dad.





Writing on the wall reads "Bridges Meat Market"

Gilbert Carter Matthews standing in front of his store Southwestern Store Fixtures at 3313 West 6th Ave.

One of the businesses once located at 3313 West 6th Ave.


Clipped from the 14 Aug 1938 edition of the Amarillo Sunday News-Globe

2 comments:

  1. The photo of Gilbert Carter Matthews was a fun fund, he was my grandfather. :)

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