FredH, thanks for sharing your trip to Chinatown with us via your photographs.
The melancholy feeling was already in place way back in the 1980s. I felt this was part of it's charm.
It's nice to see the old 1940s neon still in place, especially on the two souvenir shops you posted.
I'm amazed at how cheap lunch is there, $4.75
with tea...in Los Angeles!
FredH
As an example, there's a nice chinese restaurant next to where I live here in Lafayette IN and their lunch specials are
$7.50 without complimentary tea.