Armijo, Fairfield, CA

Armijo is a compact part of central Fairfield, a little over four tenths of a square mile, set just north and east of Downtown Fairfield. The Civic Center Library and Lee Bell Park both sit inside it, which gives the neighborhood a municipal feel. The houses are mostly single-story homes from around 1950 on a regular grid, with three or four bedrooms but modest floor plans, and a single bathroom in many. The look is plain mid-century tract, and remodeling is how many owners add room. The grid is flat and regular, so the blocks suit a bike or a stroller, and the library or the park takes only a few minutes to reach from most front doors. Armijo High School stands on Washington Street at the neighborhood's edge toward downtown, and the school's name traces back to José Francisco Armijo, who held one of Solano County's Mexican land grants. For a hamburger, Dave's Giant Hamburgers is the old local name. Sourdough and Co. Makes warm sandwiches on fresh-baked bread at its Travis Boulevard shop, just north of the line in North Texas, and soul food comes from Aunt Bill's over on Madison Street, inside Downtown Fairfield's grid. Saxbys Coffee and a Starbucks are a couple of hundred yards north in North Texas. FoodMaxx in Downtown covers the big grocery runs, and the Fairfield Farmers Market on the County Green is a few blocks away on Thursday afternoons from May through September. Most errands mean a short drive, though the library and park are an easy walk from nearly every street. Small footprints are what to expect here. Between the library, the park and the school on Washington Street, Armijo keeps a civic routine more than a commercial one. Texas Street's restaurants are close enough for an easy ride on a weekend evening, and the neighborhood itself stays quiet and ordinary in the best sense.