I love seeing photos of visiting Shriner conventioneers marching through the streets of LA , especially when they go to the trouble of decorating a — I don’t even know what to call that vehicle. A miniature car? A maxed-out go-cart? — with a giant fez. Behind it are the proud members of the Tadmor Shriner Temple in Akron, Ohio marching along Fifth St in downtown LA in 1925. In the far distance we can see the arched windows of Southern Pacific Railway’s Central Station where 5th Street dead-ends at Central Ave.
This is what that woman was driving, a 1930 Gertler-ELTO Midget Racer:
This is roughly how that view (at 5th Street and San Pedro looks these days:
Sob. This one is distressing for sure.
Very sad.
Believe the sign in the upper left is for the Patten & Davies Lumber Co. building (at 521 E. 5th), which likely puts the intersection in the foreground 5th and San Pedro.
Thanks much, Bernard. I really wasn’t sure, so now I’ve updated this post.