Duarte unincorporated, CA

Near the spot where the 605 runs north into the 210, a scattering of county-run blocks carries a Duarte address without being part of the city of Duarte. Locals call it unincorporated Duarte, one of several small Los Angeles County islands in this corner of the San Gabriel Valley, surrounded by Monrovia, Duarte and Irwindale on the map. These are plain, level residential streets. Almost every home here is a single-family postwar tract house, most one story with a yard and driveway, and very little has been built since. A few small apartment buildings sit near the edges. Pamela Park is the shared front lawn, a county park on Goodall Avenue with a skate park, picnic tables and open lawn. For water and open sky, Santa Fe Dam Recreational Area in Irwindale is a quick drive east, with a summer swim beach, pedal boats and kayaks on the lake, campsites and long bike paths along the riverbed. There is nothing to eat within the pockets themselves, so dinner starts with deciding which neighbor to visit. Downtown Monrovia on Myrtle Avenue has the closest cluster of cafes and restaurants within a stroll of each other. Groceries come from the chain stores on Huntington Drive in Monrovia and Duarte. The Metro A Line has stations in both cities, and the two freeways mean a quick start on longer trips. The odd part of living here is the patchwork. In return, unincorporated Duarte offers quiet postwar streets, a lake and river park a few minutes off, and the mountains on the horizon.