ABOUT THE HISTORICAL PHOTOGRAPHS
"It’s mostly hotels that we see in the older photo. Their windows are filled with awnings, those elegant accessories that enlivened facades before the advent of air conditioning. The awnings make the windows look like opera boxes, as if the hotel guests were enjoying the theater of street life below.

We’re looking south on Washington Street, at a strip that has long been a magnet for visitors and entertainment. The building on the right contained t...