Blair Hills, Culver City, CA

Blair Hills sits on the ridge above downtown Culver City, and its best feature is the view. From the upper streets you can look across the Los Angeles Basin to the Hollywood Hills, and on a clear day out to the ocean, with parkland spilling down the slopes on several sides. Homes in Blair Hills are mostly mid-century modern houses from the 1950s and 1960s, many with clerestory windows, wide glass and decks or patios built for the view. Lots are larger than in the flats below. Some houses are close to original and others have been rebuilt, so the streets mix restored mid-century design with newer contemporary facades. Blair Hills Park is the small local park, and Stoneview Nature Center, a Los Angeles County site on the slope, adds walking paths close to home. Neighbors often use the Culver City Stairs, just downhill, as a hard morning workout, and the Park to Playa Trail links it all toward the beach. There are no restaurants on the hill itself, so eating out means heading down to downtown. Honey's Kettle on Culver Boulevard is known for its kettle-fried chicken, Mensho Tokyo serves ramen with house-made noodles, and Go Get Em Tiger on Washington is the usual coffee run. Daily life involves a car more than in most of the city. Groceries are at the Trader Joe's on Culver Boulevard or the other downtown markets, and the E Line station is a short drive or a steep walk down. The streets are quiet and a few degrees cooler than the flats, with more breeze. The tradeoff is the grade. Streets are steep enough that walking to dinner is easy and walking back is a climb, and the overlook draws weekend crowds that fill parking on Jefferson Boulevard. Early on a weekday, though, the trails are mostly neighbors and their dogs.