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As downtown Lubbock’s retail buildings expanded in the 1950s, so did the need for more parking. Two local department stores, Cobb’s and the Hemphill-Wells Company, cooperatively built and operated this seven-story garage (two levels are below grade), designed by Herbert Brasher as an open concrete deck structure railed with pleated metal panels. The perky blade sign on Avenue J signaled the garage’s location to shoppers on 13th Street. A block south of the parking center at 1420 Avenue J is the two-ftory Gibson Garage (1950, Sam Kalesky). The sweeping curve of its corner bay and its setback from 15th Street accommodated its original tenant, the Firestone Tire Company.