In 1958, two years after it opened, the instantly iconic the Capitol Records building on Vine Street began putting up their Christmas-tree-shaped lights (more than 4300 of them) to celebrate the holiday season. From the style of the photography, I’m guessing this shot was taken in the 1960s—feel free to correct me if I’m wrong. But it is nice to see that so many of the buildings in this shot are still around: Capitol Records, that two-story building in front of it on the Yucca St corner, and farther back the Taft building with the huge Miller beer sign, and the Broadway-Hollywood department store.
Roughly the same angle in February 2021.
I always loved seeing the Christmas tree lights atop the Capitol Records building as I drove to work on the Santa Monica Freeway. It was the perfect Los Angeles way to announce the holiday season.