The corner of Figueroa and Seventh Streets in downtown Los Angeles is an always-busy intersection due, in part, to there being a Metro subway stop on the northeast corner. But back in 1919, when this photo was taken, the skyscrapers that now would have been unimaginable. Instead, this is what Angelenos saw on the northwest corner. It is the Foy house, built in the early 1870s, by Samuel Calvert Foy, whose father laid out the grounds of the White House and the Capitol. His daughter, Mary, was the first woman to serve as Los Angeles city librarian. Judging by the signs in their front yard, the Foys had a side hustle of selling Christmas trees.

Remarkably, the Foy house still exists. It has stood in four different locations, and you can now see it at 1325 Carroll Ave in Angelino Heights, where it is L.A. Historic-Cultural Monument No. 8. This image is from December 2017.

This is how the corner looks nowadays. This image is from February 2021.