I love everything in this circa 1937 photo looking west along 7th Street toward Hill Street in downtown LA: the young girl in the checked skirt (I wonder where she was going that day), the woman in the hat to her right checking her purse, and the semaphore traffic light next to her. I love that gorgeous light fixture hanging from the overhead awning and the streetcar running along Hill. In the background the marquee of the Warner Bros. Downtown Theatre, and in the far background the two-light street lamp. (Source: rarehistoricalphotos.com)
This is roughly how that view looked in February 2023. The theater is now a jewelry market.
What a fantastic photograph! You are right, Martin. It is a gem. Too bad we don’t know who took it. It makes me sad though, to think of the life and hubbub that once filled the streets of downtown.
I wonder why someone chose to take that photograph? It’s certainly framed in a number of wonderful ways.
The webpage I found it on included several photos like it. They had a similar style so I assumed that’s what he did – specialize in everydat street scenes.