![]() In the interstices between these two realities-the genuine article in Galveston that is now only a memory, and the sad highway approximation with the generic name (and not a corner in sight)-lies the story of an everyday American institution that once was so common that nobody gave it half a thought. "They come here because it's cool," proprietor Jules Albert told an interviewer back in the '70s, when the store was still standing, "and they can sit there whether it's rain or shine and, you know, enjoy themselves." People would gather there in the afternoon, sitting on the steps. Like most such stores in Galveston, Jules' had a shed-roof wooden canopy reaching from the building out to the edge of the street. This real corner store sold the convenience items-sodas, snacks, toothpaste-and a general line of groceries that included, according to the sign in an old photograph, "fresh produce and fresh meats." In nearby Galveston there is a vacant lot on the corner where Jules' Food Market used to be. It is called, incongruously, The Corner Store. ![]() ![]() On an interstate highway near Houston, there is a gas station and convenience store that is unexceptional in all but name. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
May 2023
Categories |