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The revitalization of downtown Los Angeles has us wondering what the those awesome movie palaces, restaurants and architecture looked like back in the day. And thanks to vintage color footage from 1946, we can now take a virtual tour of the neighborhood.
The stock footage, unearthed by LA Observed, reveals a bustling downtown at night as the camera careens through the streets from the back of a vehicle. The journey takes you past crowds of Angelenos heading to theaters like the Rialto, classic restaurants like Clifton's Cafeteria, and window shopping at fur shops. Yes, lots of fur shops.
There are plenty of familiar L.A. sights like the Golden Gopher, See's Candy and the Biltmore Hotel—and some unfamiliar sights like parking for 15 cents! And it's definitely a more exciting scene than Broadway in the 80s.
Take a ride down L.A.'s memory lane and see how the neighborhood has transformed and what remains: