Joe Bornstein doesn't look down on the neighborhood of years ago. When he calls the Old South End the "Wild Wild West," it's with affection. And three generations of experience.

Joe's grandfather, Louis "Louie" Bornstein, a Russian immigrant, started selling flowers in the area in the early 1900s, probably as a peddler. He did well and, in due course, had two stores, one on Washington Street on the corner of West Springfield in the Smith Block (Minot Hall) and one near Dudley Station. Others would follow, including the present Olympia Flower Store on Washington Street, near the corner of Mass. Ave.

On that corner, the Mugar family had operated a restaurant since the turn of the century. Sarkis Mugar, father of Stephen, the founder of Star Market, was, reportedly, a waiter there.

City directories first mention Olympia Flower Store in 1929. It was probably named after the Smith Block's Olympia Hotel-and pool hall. For years, Bornstein lived above Olympia and had offices there. He also owned Conservatory Flower Shop across the street at 1768 Washington and a bit of property in Roxbury and the South End.

When Joe's father, Herman, took over the store, there was so much business he worked seven days a week and Joe's mother part-time. Herman was a gambler, which explains the photo that hangs on the back wall: a table of local bookies and their wives at Joe's brother Larry's bar mitzvah-a truthful piece of South End history. Joe, Larry, and their mother, Selma, now own Olympia.

"The '30s and '40s were a different world," says Joe. Back then, there was a large Jewish, Middle-Eastern, and Armenian presence in the South End. Washington Street was bustling with drugstores, doctors, dentists, taverns, cafés (Ladies Invited), pool rooms, dance halls, restaurants, and grocery stores. The El was running, and the Premier Deli and Puritan Theatre were in business-a lively scene.

Joe, 57, has been working at Olympia since he was a teenager, when he got his driver's license and started making deliveries. He may have missed the Fifties and Sixties scene around Northampton Station but figures all the hi-jinks made it "a fun place." Both brothers took on greater responsibilities after graduating from college. Larry once ran the Cleveland Circle store.

Ten years ago, Olympia rented the corner space to 7-11-"a good tenant," says Joe-and moved next door to 1745, where it's now nestled between a condo and Bark Place.

Once a stately 1850s bowfront, 1745 and 1747 Washington is now a two-story "remuddling." On two occasions in the past, cars crashed into Olympia's windows, and, in the estimation of many, especially Washington Street Main Streets, the Bornsteins took too long in fixing things up. Joe says they had a hard time finding contractors.

While Joe and I sat there talking, the phone kept ringing; a man came in to buy a birthday balloon and had it filled with helium; and an employee at a back table trimmed flowers, adding to an enormous pile of green leaves on the floor. Although it seemed reasonably busy, Joe says the Internet (Teleflora) has changed the business a lot, making it less profitable. Olympia used to have arrangements with florists in Chicago, which sent orders its way. Now it's national companies. While it has always had a good relationship with Boston Medical Center-"City Hospital" in the days when Louis Bornstein started providing flowers there-the closing of South End churches has had a negative impact, as well as changes in funerals. Many obituaries now specify no flowers. "It's either too busy or too slow," he says.

When did you notice the neighborhood was changing? I asked. When the elevated train stopped running in 1987, he says. The stores around Northampton Station lost their customers and closed. He misses the El, commenting, "It was so convenient to downtown, five minutes from Northampton Station. It wasn't the prettiest thing, but it added character." He also notices the absence of families, particularly African-American families.

Around the time the El stopped running, Joe's wife Eileen took color photos of Northampton Station, the stores, and local characters-the people and places she (rightly) figured wouldn't be there in the future. She blew them up, framed them, and hung them on the walls of the store. Eileen is not, however, mired in the past; she likes controversial Zero Worcester Square (1672 Washington) and has taken shots that make it look like a good fit on that block.

Olympia's door is always open, occasionally attracting people who aren't there to buy flowers. "Drunks ranting and raving are not a problem," says Joe; "they're actually nice guys. We've been here so long, people know us. Live and let live."

Alison Barnet is the author of the recently-published South End Character, a collection of her South End News columns over the last four years.