Dolgeville, Alhambra, CA

Dolgeville recalls the manufacturing town Alfred Dolge founded on Alhambra's west side before the area joined the city in 1908, and today it is the stretch of West Main Street and Commonwealth Avenue where a lot of the city's everyday shopping gets done. Housing mixes older detached homes on the quieter blocks, postwar houses and apartment buildings closer to Main and Commonwealth. Blocks near South Palm Avenue feel more residential, while the frontage along the arterials is commercial, so the feel can shift within a single block. is the landmark, making every flavor in house and staying open until 10 most nights. Across the street, Jay Dee Cafe is the neighborhood dive bar. La Cafeina Cafe and Taqueria at 408 S Palm Ave pairs coffee drinks with tacos, and Oo-Kook Tofu and BBQ on West Commonwealth handles Korean soft tofu stews and grilled meats. Errands are the strongest suit. Albertsons at 2400 W Commonwealth Ave and Aldi at 2121 W Main St sit a few blocks apart, with Chipotle, Panera Bread and a Starbucks in the same centers. Many houses are close enough to walk to at least one of them, and Main Street runs straight east to downtown. Parks are the weak spot. There is no real green space inside the neighborhood, so people drive or walk a few minutes to Emery Park on Mimosa Street to the west or head to Granada Park to the south. Main Street and Commonwealth carry steady traffic, and chain restaurants and parking lots shape much of the frontage. Still, few parts of the city put a supermarket, a dive bar and a century-old ice cream counter within a short walk of the same front door, and in Dolgeville the ice cream line on a warm night shows it.