“The Underworld Story,” last week’s mystery movie, had quite a few interesting shots of downtown Los Angeles from about 1950.
Here’s one from the opening titles. It shows the Fashion League Building, which was at Hill and 2nd streets. Notice the overhead wires and tracks for the streetcars.
A similar view, looking south on Hill Street, via Google Earth.
In 1948, the Los Angeles Times published a map showing the Fashion League Building as the site of proposed state buildings.
Here’s a satellite view for comparison.
Demolition of the Fashion League Building as shown in the Los Angeles Times, December 1956.