Florence Firestone unincorporated, CA

Florence-Firestone shares its name with two of its busiest streets, Florence Avenue and Firestone Boulevard, which cross the community from west to east. The western blocks, along Central and Compton avenues, are almost all houses. Heading east toward Alameda, the homes give way to warehouses, plant nurseries and freight tracks. Housing across the area is older and small, mostly bungalows and cottages from the first half of the 1900s, and many lots carry a second little house behind the first. Parks here are county parks, and several are spread through the grid, so most homes have one within a short walk. Franklin D. Roosevelt Park, built in the Depression era, is the biggest name among them. Salt Lake Park in Huntington Park is close by for anyone who wants more room to run. Food follows the avenues. Florence Avenue is lined with Salvadoran pupuserias and panaderias, and birria stands and Honduran kitchens turn up along Central and Compton avenues. Mi Lindo Nayarit, on the Central Avenue edge, does Nayarit-style mariscos. On Nadeau Street, Nadeau Cafe is the coffee spot people mention first. Daily life runs on the bus and the train more than in most of the county. Supermarkets and discount stores cluster on Compton Avenue and Firestone, and the 110 and 105 freeways are a short drive west and south. Without a city hall, things like street repairs and permits go through county offices downtown, and local issues compete for attention with the rest of a large supervisorial district. In Florence-Firestone the train station, not a civic center, is where the day starts for a lot of people.