James Lileks linked to a site of vintage postcards of Los Angeles. I skipped right over it (got sidetracked by his writings on lamp styles, of all things), but his commenters were talking about how wonderful the pictures were. So I realized I needed to check this out. This comment in particular resonated:
I’ve always found California to be an amazing conglomeration of geography and culture, full of interesting and friendly people.Now, if we could only get a government worthy of it.
I assume the postcards are more meaningful if you have easy access (like out your window) to the Los Angeles of today.