Maybe the buildings haven't changed all that much, but maybe the world has gotten a bit more suspect ... or suspicious.

[Or thirsty. The fence is from a sidewalk cafe. - Dave]

Most of these "here's what it looks like now" photos seem so sterile. Sure, it may be cleaner, but there are so few people to be seen. No hustle and definitely no bustle.

A nice article on the former Hilton, now the Andaluz Hotel, the ten-story building in the background:

https://hauntedhouses.com/new-mexico/hotel-andaluz/

The Woolworth and Montgomery Ward buildings are still there, but of course the retailers are long gone. Whomever Whoever remodeled the facade of the Ward's building, to make it look more Southwestern, didn't do it any favors. The interesting brick buildings to the right of that, to the corner, are gone. Street View shows the businesses located there now include a gentlemen's club and a tattoo parlor.

Yes, Dave, you caught me. But you also reminded me of a joke that was a favorite of an English professor at UT Austin.
Knock-knock.
Who's there?
F@#k.
F@#k who?
F@#k Whom.

Montgomery Ward, front and center in this photo, was one of a number of retailers that attempted to develop a look, erecting these pseudo-colonial boxes in small-to-mid-sized cities across the country. While hardly at the level of S.H. Kress' art deco masterpieces, they nonetheless got the job done, even today being readily recognizable (at least when they haven't been covered over).

Below is the same view from July of 2015.