Things Get Better With Age

What is it about vintage images of everyday street scenes, such as this one from the northwest corner of Hollywood & Vine in the early 1950s (hat-tip to LA Observed)? I can’t help but extensively examine and explore them as if they are some archaeological find.

Yet should someone venture out this afternoon with a camera and post a snap of this same landmark location, I’d give it, at best, a passing glance.