Covina, CA

Friday evenings in Covina tend to end up at Heritage Plaza Park, where the farmers market fills the downtown plaza and the restaurants on Citrus Avenue spill onto the sidewalks. The city spreads out from that core in rings. The streets closest to Citrus Avenue hold the oldest houses, Craftsman bungalows and Spanish-style homes from the orange-growing years, some with courtyard apartments nearby. The east side, toward Glendora Avenue and Barranca Street, is newer and more purely suburban, with apartments and later infill along the main roads. Covina Park, a block off downtown, is the flagship green space, with a bandshell, a pool and a skating rink. Cougar Park adds a splash pad and a community garden, and Wingate Park on the east side has the only nature trail in the city, along with a skate park. Rad Coffee pours specialty lattes on Citrus Avenue and stays open until ten, which makes it the default meeting spot on weeknights. The live theater and comedy nights at the performing arts center keep the street busy after dinner. Everyday errands happen along Azusa Avenue, Citrus Avenue and Arrow Highway, where the supermarkets and shopping centers sit. A Metrolink platform sits just north of downtown, and Foothill Transit covers local routes. The tradeoff is the freeways. Life in Covina tends to circle back to Citrus Avenue, where an ordinary errand can turn into coffee, a show or a Friday market stroll with the mountains behind the old storefronts.