The Caliph piano bar in Hillcrest

Placename change

Looking for the Granada Piano Bar in Hillcrest mentioned in the story (“My uncle plays the Granada piano bar in Hillcrest,” Writing Contest, April 20). Love piano bars but can’t find this one. Any thoughts? Thanks.

Kelly Tomke

Sherman Heights

Barbara Warner replies:

The one thing I changed in the story was the name; the bar is actually what was forever known as the Caliph. The reason I switched names was because KPBS did a video piece on the Caliph when it was finally closing, sort of a swan song. Those videos get aired endlessly and I thought — because this was way back before the memories of the bar’s contemporary patrons and most readers — that it might confuse people.

If the KPBS story hadn’t been repeatedly commemorating the Caliph’s most recent incarnation on air, I wouldn’t have given it a thought; it’s been a great neighborhood bar for decades. I came up with “Granada” as a nod to the “Granada Court” on 5th Avenue, one of those bygone little apartment complexes, a U-shaped arrangement of tiny units with what passed for Spanish architecture--pink stucco and red tile roofs, a touch of wrought iron and a rounded arch over the front gate. Alas, think it’s a parking lot now.