Iconic Huntington Catering Hall Comes Down

The landmark Huntington Townhouse catering hall was demolished this week after standing idle since 2007.

A 103,000-square foot Lowe's home-improvement store is expected to open next summer, along with an additional 26,500-square foot garden center.

Lowe's said the store "represents an average investment in the community of approximately $16.5 million and creates about 125 new jobs."

Lowe’s and Racanelli Construction Company, Inc., the general contractor, conducted a groundbreaking ceremony for the project on Wednesday at the Jericho Turnpike site. Representatives from Lowe’s, Town of Huntington officials and Racanelli participated.

All week long, men and machines were busy knocking down walls, roofs, doors and other leftovers from the well-known site that hosted many of major celebrations in the lives of Huntington residents. The hall opened in the 1950s; Rhona Silver bought it in 1997 but closed it a decade later and sold the site to Lowe's.

Since then, the building and property had deteriorated as legal issues surrounding the sale and Lowe's building plans were resolved.

The Huntington Station site will be Lowe's 66th in the state.

Photos contributed by Everett Smith,  Tracy and Rob Gorman and others in the Huntington community.