I found this picture of 4th and Hill on eBay a couple of nights ago, but I decided to edit out the watermark and even out the blemishes in the sky before I posted it. A smaller version (along with many other images and much information about this block) was previously posted by
ProphetM in
post #16025. The seller dates the picture at circa 1920, but it must be about a decade earlier because otherwise we'd be looking straight at the base of the Black Building.
For fun, I thought I'd do a quick round-up of the buildings and signage, so I searched the 1909 and 1911 City Directories. I'll start with the fruit stand on the corner which the 1909 CD lists as a grocery business belonging to H M Wisler at 361 S Hill. I'm not sure whether the house behind it is on Hill or 4th, but it might be Lizzie M Warner's furnished rooms at 357 S Hill. On the left is the Hotel Antlers at 421 W 4th Street. There appear to be two or three buildings below the hotel, but all I could find was Mrs Leocadie Diemer's hair goods at 413 W 4th Street and Thomas M Wood's The Wood furnished rooms at 417 W 4th Street, both in the 1911 CD. To the right of the Antlers are the Wales Apartments at 344 S Olive. Continuing right, the small writing at the top says Holtzclaw-Stubbs-Shriner Co. Their listing in the 1911 CD places them at 347 S Hill Street, although it notes that the company has been succeeded by Shriner & Allen Co. The company is listed as Holtzclaw Allen & Co in the 1909 CD where their business is described as decorators and antique furniture. The Delmonico Italian restaurant advertised on the wall below can be seen on the right of the picture, although it isn't in the City Directories (the 1909 and 1911 CDs both list a restaurant owned by Aurelio Garau at 351 S Hill, with the latter also naming him as the owner of furnished rooms at 355 S Hill). The other wall sign is for Earl V. Lewis' Kodak Store at 226 W 4th Street - we covered it back in
post #18648.
eBay
The roof which can be seen on the far right of the picture above belongs to the old University Club at 349 South Hill.
GaylordWilshire previously posted the picture below, but the image is currently missing, so here it is again.
USC Digital Library
For reference, here's an up-to-date view of 4th and Hill from roughly the same position as the first.
GSV
A couple of previous posts about 4th and Hill:
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...ostcount=16062
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...ostcount=16253