This shot gives us a soon-to-be-demolished glimpse of what Bunker Hill at the northernmost end of downtown Los Angeles looked like in 1955. The two streets we can see here are Olive St and 2nd Street, where downtown was still residential. But this stage, most of the homes had been divided up into boarding houses and the like. As we can see, the area was becoming rather rundown and neglected, and not long after this photo was taken, the razing and leveling of Bunker Hill got underway. But as we can see in the background, Los Angeles City Hall dominated the skyline, no matter which direction you were looking in.
You can see the Daily Planet building from the SUPERMAN tv show. All us big kids will never forget that building! If LA City Hall could talk. The 50s saw a lot of re-building in Los Angeles, foremost freeway expansion. This pix reminds me — to a degree — of Chavez where Dodgers Stadium was built in the late 50s. Lots of old buildings, etc, torn down to make way for a new era. Also lots of stories about squatters who refused to move unless the city paid them a fair price! Good sitcom material for years!