My grandparents know a different Alton than I do. Both of them are Riverbend natives, born and raised. In between the buildings and the cracked sidewalks, they can still see the Alton of their childhoods. I love going downtown with them and hearing stories about our shared hometown, 50 years removed from the city I know. I never really noticed the years between us until the first time we went together to Germania. I had already spent hours at the downtown Alton location, hanging out with my friends and lounging on the rooftop benches overlooking the bridge. I thought my grandparents might enjoy something new, so we trekked downtown to check it out. My grandpa, especially, had a blast. He remembers the building as it was before the coffee shop, when it was a bank and he could only go a few steps inside to the teller’s counter. The rest of the bank was off-limits to the public, but now as he sipped at an iced chai and climbed the stairs to look out over the balcony, he was
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