In this photo, we’re treated to a glimpse of how Pershing Square in the middle of downtown Los Angeles used to look back when it was filled with lush, shady greenery. I don’t have a date on this photo, but all those trees and shrubs were dug up in the early 1950s when a multi-level parking lot was put in, so I’m guessing this is from the late 1940s? Whatever the year, it was when retired gentlemen would go to parks and read the newspaper cover to cover with their similarly minded pals, as we can see in the left foreground.

That white building in the background stands on the corner of Hill and Fifth. It’s still around and, like many old office buildings in downtown L.A., is now apartments. This is a satellite image from 2021 and we can see how bare of greener the square is now.

I thought this auto-colorized version did an excellent job of bringing this scene to life.