Civic Center, Carson, CA

Civic Center is the middle of Carson, the blocks along Carson Street and Avalon Boulevard around the city's civic plaza. It's where the town's main street crosses its busiest boulevard, and restaurants fill nearly every strip center in between. Single-story houses from the 1950s and 1960s fill the side streets, apartments and condos line the boulevards, and mobile home communities such as Flamingo Gardens Trailer Lodge and Park Avalon Mobile Estates sit right off Carson Street. That variety gives the neighborhood a wider range of home types than most of the city. Carson Street is the draw. Teofilo Coffee Company, at 714 E Carson, is a Filipino specialty roaster that brews Barako and Excelsa beans from the Philippines. Fiesta Barbecue and Bibingka and Uncle Rolly's share a center at 860 E Carson, and Scoreboard Lounge on Civic Plaza Drive is the neighborhood bar. Calas Park, on East 220th Street, is the neighborhood's big green space. It has two lighted tennis courts, a lighted ball diamond, an outdoor fitness zone, a par course, a wading pool and a snack bar. Errands here are easy. Ralphs is at 650 E Carson, SouthBay Pavilion and its IKEA are just north on Avalon, and many blocks are close enough to walk to coffee or dinner. The 405 is a short drive away. The tradeoff is traffic. Carson Street and Avalon are both busy most of the day, and the lots at the busiest restaurant centers fill up at dinner. Walk a few blocks in and the houses sit on quiet streets, a few minutes on foot from a bibingka and a flat white.