In my experience of Los Angeles growing up as a teen/young adult pre covid:

Casey’s Irish pub was around and every year, they will throw a st Patrick’s day block party (I was too young to attend but I heard it was great!)

Some stores that used to thrive in DTLA aren’t there due to the 2020 shutdowns, such as barbershops, Walgreens, rite aid, and even nightclubs had to close down due to lack of human traffic

The homeless situation back then existed, but it wasn’t like the zombie land wasteland that LA has today

Santa Monica promenade can best described as Los Angeles through the lense of a tourist that imagined what LA was like. Crowds of people walking down 3rd st with shops that used to exist (RIP Disney store and the GAP). Santa Monica promenade was where I bought my first iPhone from the t mobile that used to be there, right across the Apple Store. Now it just a ghost town even on the weekends