It’s good we’ve got photos like this one to remind us that once upon a time, downtown Los Angeles was filled with grand Victorian mansions. This circa 1895 shot was taken on the 200 block of S. Olive St near the top end of downtown. It must have been a lovely neighborhood to stroll around in back then.

Naturally, all that gentility is long gone, and enormous buildings have replaced it…along with some nice shade trees, so at least there’s that. This image is from December 2021.