I moved to 18th and Dolores in 1993. Among all the changes that the neighborhood has gone through since then, somehow, just outside the hustle and bustle, this intersection remains the same. The four corners here haven’t changed in decades.
A block away at 18th and Guerrero Carl’s became Tartine. Quality Junk and Bruce’s little shop where I’d get my hair cut got gobbled by Tartine and Delfina. Bi Rite changed from the dusty place where I got my catfood, to . . . you know, what it is now. Anna’s, where you could get cookies for diabetics, is Farina’s.
Stand in the middle of this intersection (watch out for cars) and look around you, for now, you’ll still see the old neighborhood. The one I moved to, the one that was there before me. Robert’s little world beat music store is gone. Al’s Comics has moved. But these four corners persist.
