"There are many views, but there is only one Kotel view," says Terry Rakov the owner, a Los Angeles native who made aliyah in 1978. When Rakov first arrived in Israel, the Old City with its sense of history, juxtaposition of old and new and diversity of cultures intrigued him, and he decided that that was where he wanted to live. After the Old City was liberated from the Jordanians in the Six-Day War, the government decided to totally renovate the badly damaged Jewish Quarter. The reconstruction included creating apartments and living spaces, and Rakov purchased his unique kotel-view apartment in a blind bid in 1980. "At the time, you couldn't give those apartments away," recalls Rakov. "The streets, which are really narrow lanes, were not yet paved, so donkeys were the only way to bring in building materials through the muddy lanes. There were no grocery stores, community services, or facilities of any sort. In those rugged days, only those with an optimistic imagination or a strong desire to be near the Kotel could envision what it might become." Now the Jewish Quarter, winner of many architectural prizes, has become the showcase neighborhood of Jerusalem, or even of all Israel.