This part of downtown Los Angeles looks so different in this 1905 photo that it’s hard to even recognize it. The photographer was standing at the corner of 5th and Hill Streets. Those trees on the left line the perimeter of Pershing Square (known as Central Park back then) and on the right, the building with the awnings is the 5-story California Club, which was a private social club that started in 1888 making it the second-oldest club in Southern California. It also gave rise to the adage: “There is an old adage that goes “The people who run Los Angeles belong to The Jonathan Club; the people who own Los Angeles belong to The California Club.” – which sounds awfully elitist if you ask me. But maybe that’s because I’m never likely to become a member.

A clearer view of the California Club building at around the same time:

The same view in January 2017, which means that the building that replaced the California Club now houses a Starbucks.