During the last couple of decades of the 1800s, the land that would later become Beverly Hills was far enough from downtown Los Angeles to be considered agricultural. The main crop was lima beans. They provided a good, cheap, and healthy source of protein for the locals. In this 1888 photo we’re looking at the stretch of land that 30 years later became Rodeo Drive. Quite the difference, huh?

Richard M says: “Watered by the Rodeo de las Aguas that gave the drive its name.”

I ran the image through the auto-colorizer and it came out pretty well.