In 1900 the area around the corner of 39th and Broadway was mostly residential. That is including along Broadway and along 39th.
Time would pass and into 1925 many of the residential buildings at the intersection would be demolished and make way for more intensive uses. New larger buildings would be built, more commercial and also some apartment buildings providing higher density to the area.
Pictured above is the 1950 Sanborn map capturing the north east corner of the intersection of 39th and Broadway. One particular building that sticks out that would soon be demolished is the Berkeley Hotel. Below is a picture of the building from the 1940’s Tax Assessors Photos.
The largest swath of demolition took place from 1950 to 1975. Since 1975 the corridor has remained largely unchanged except for the demolition of a few houses and the demolition at the North East corner of the 4 buildings captured above for the addition of the Walgreens.