I couldn’t expect this. The Postal Convenience Center, located at the corner of El Cajon and Louisiana in San Diego’s University Heights district, is closed—looks like forever. I made the discovery when out for a leisurely walk this afternoon. Signs posted in the windows state: “We Have Moved” and directs customers to 4075 Park Blvd, where their mail will be forwarded. The location is a UPS Store.
A second-hand source says this: The proprietors learned last month that the block of properties has new owners, who will redevelop it. Efforts to continue operations of a business reportedly opened in 1987 ran aground; I don’t know specifics but can guess costs of relocation and starting over on short notice. Postal Convenience Center served locals—many of them likely lost in any lengthy restart. The establishment hasn’t moved, if I am rightly informed. It’s gone for good.
I walked past earlier this week, and the place looked to be open as usual. My second-hand source says sudden closure came on July 6, 2021. That might be, because Yelp still shows business hours rather than listing as permanently closed or moved to new location.
Today, I took a closer look around the shuttered small business: Other shops on the same block of El Cajon are boarded up and marked with large and imposing “No Trespassing” signs. Several cottages and houses along Louisiana are similarly vacant and plastered with the warning. My guess: The structures soon will be leveled and another massive housing project will one day command the corner.
The Postal Convenience Center is a loss to the community—as a successful small business and for its architectural character that added so much aplomb to that portion of El Cajon Blvd, which is diagonally across from the iconic Lafayette Hotel.
I used Leica Q2 to capture the Featured Image, which is composed as shot. Vitals, aperture manually set: f/8, ISO 100, 1/160 sec, 28mm; 4:28 p.m. PDT.