East Lancaster, CA

East Lancaster is the half of Lancaster that faces the open desert, a broad spread of Los Angeles County suburbia that runs east from downtown until the houses give out and the Mojave takes over. It sits between the city's older core and the empty country toward Lake Los Angeles, and much of what the rest of the Antelope Valley knows about it comes from driving through on Avenue J. Housing ages as you move outward. The blocks nearest downtown hold small postwar ranch houses, the middle belt is stucco subdivisions from later decades, and the far edge mixes newer homes and mobile home parks with lots that are still bare desert. The college campus on Lancaster Boulevard is about where the suburbs stop. Close to home, the lawns and play areas of Tierra Bonita Park serve the newer tracts out past 20th Street East. South toward Palmdale, the Joe Davies Heritage Airpark parks retired jets and a space shuttle carrier outside on Avenue P. For coffee, east-side regulars go to Coffee Bloom, which is known for its flavored blended drinks. A short drive west, The BLVD downtown has the Museum of Art and History and the teas and Sunday brunch at The Modern Tea Room, and Bravery Brewing pours veteran-owned beer with pizza from its own kitchen. The daily annoyance is getting to the freeway. Coming back the other way, East Lancaster rewards that drive with quieter streets and sunsets that light up the whole valley behind you.