One of my favorite places in vanished Los Angeles was the bustling intersection of Spring and First Streets. Here are three contemporaneous views from just after the turn of the last century.
Looking north on Spring Street from First.
Courtesy U.S.C. Digital Library.
Now, in the photo above, see the man at upper left leaning on the flagpole? He's standing on the roof of the Larronde Block, which is the likely vantage point of this shot dated 1903.
Courtesy U.S.C. Digital Library.
And the view south, probably taken from an upper storey window in the Phillips Block.
Courtesy U.S.C. Digital Library.
South on Spring from First today. Click on the Google Street View image below to have a look around the intersection now. (Peek over your left shoulder to really get your bearings.) ;-)
Google Maps Street View.