Downtown LA is a treasure trove of amazing architecture, and I still think it has the most potential of any downtown in North America, but it's a pretty shitty place to be in after work hours. Even during its revival pre-COVID, it was super sketchy. I stayed at 5th and Hill (right across from Pershing Square) in 2016 for close to a week, and I was really let down by how bad it was. I'd head to Ralph's at 8pm to get some groceries, and most of the people on the street were super out of it, and every storefront (the was still open) had armed guards/security out front. No one was hanging out or walking around. It was dead except for all of the people coming up from San Pedro St (Skid Row).
One night coming back from a dive bar in east downtown, my friend dropped me of at Pershing Square just in time to see a guy get sucker-punched, and then jumped, and all of his shit taken.
It's not a pleasant downtown to be in after work hours.
Still, it's totally worth a visit during the day. It's a very photogenic downtown.