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It's easy to enter the Man's Hat Shop Downtown on Central Avenue with a bit of reverence.

It opened in 1946 and is among a handful of area businesses that can boast such deep roots.

I am a sucker for people and places that stand the test of time and endure as a vital part of an ever-changing world. This shop is one of those places.

Western style hats, such as this fur hat being priced by J.W. Brown, are the shop's bread and butter, but custom ball caps, fedoras and other stylized hats also crowd the shelves.

The owner, Stuart Dunlap, credits various factors for the shop's staying power, but he takes particular pride in service.

"We provide a quality product, not something just off the shelf," he says.

It is not so much the hats themselves that draw me in, but the aura of living, breathing history that is embodied there.