Here's a photo of Tejon Street that I took as I left the Sonterra Grill on a Friday evening last month. In my twenties I worked for five years at a camera shop a couple of blocks north of this spot. Back then Tejon was mostly a business and shopping district with many high end little boutiques and shops, as well as a few landmark restaurants and night spots. The building in this picture, which now houses Fujiyama (sushi) and Sonterra (southwest fusion?), used to house a Woolworth's. I loved going there in the mornings because they had a diner at the back of the store, and all the old timers would congregate there for coffee and eggs and chat about the weather.
Over the years Tejon Street evolved into more of a party district. Now it's bar-bar-bar, restaurant-restaurant-restaurant, not to mention the humongous nightclubs that bring in the crowds on weekend nights. There are still a few boutiques, but the rents have gotten so astronomical that only the most successful are able to make it. It's a pity, because I think a strong shopping core is the heart of any downtown. One of the first shops to go down was the Chinook Bookshop a few years ago, which caused quite a public outcry and an extended philosophical mourning period among locals. It was an institution and I still miss it. The owners officially stated that they were closing the store because they had decided to retire, but I think that the internet and large chain stores must have had at least some bearing on their decision. I treasure my few Chinook bookmarks that I still have around the house. They'd put one in every book you bought.
Earlier this year the camera shop where I had worked so long ago, Shewmaker's, closed its doors. It had been there since 1936. For me, downtown hasn't been the same ever since. Whenever I walk or drive past the empty building where Shewmaker's used to be, I get a little sad.
