It took Shanghai just 20 years to go from nice city to megalopolis. For the City of Angels, it took a bit longer to evolve from the 1908 flickery twinkle town (top) to the 2002 sea of lights (bottom)
https://gizmodo.com/shanghai-skyline-before-and-after-5558350
Both images of Los Angeles were taken from Mount Wilson. The first by Ferdinand Ellermann in 1908, one hour exposure. The second one, by Gerhard Eisenbeis with 4 seconds exposure on 100 ASA film. [Uni Mainz]
