Eric Richardson [Flickr]

Old fronds line Hill street after the Palms received a pruning.

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES — The palm trees at Pershing Square can be excused for feeling a little exposed at the moment. Crews showed up today to prune away years of frond growth from the trees along Hill street, leaving the stately palms looking young and slender.

Over on 6th street, the palms lining the north side of the street still bear their beards of dead fronds. The trees lean noticeably, while the trimmed ones on Hill stand straight. While I would not profess to know much of anything about palms -- and past conversation has supported this -- I would have to suspect that the weight of the fronds sits heavy on the slender trunks.

While on the subject of Pershing Square, I ran across this 1913 photo in the USC Digital Archives today while researching a different topic (the fires of September 17, 1913). Seeing the park in its simple, proper state makes one wish for older days.