Clarkdale, Culver City, CA

Washington Boulevard is the spine of Clarkdale, on the west side of Culver City, where a Danish bakery, a coffee bar and a couple of old neighborhood bars share a few short blocks. Clarkdale homes are mostly mid-century bungalows and single-story ranch houses on small lots, with duplexes and small apartment buildings mixed in. Older houses often sit next to newer two- and three-story multi-unit buildings, so one street can cover several decades of construction. Copenhagen Pastry bakes traditional Danish pastries on Washington Boulevard and is the usual weekend stop for this part of town. MillCross Coffee Bar and Kitchen, a few doors away, is the local coffee counter, and Uzumaki Sushi sits on the same stretch. Parks here mean a short walk rather than a big lawn out front. Tellefson Park nearby has a playground and sports facilities, and Veterans Memorial Park, east on Overland Avenue in Washington Culver, adds a public pool, tennis and basketball courts and a jogging loop. Errands run along Sepulveda Boulevard, where Orta Garden Supply sells plants and soil next to quick lunch counters and takeout spots. Groceries usually mean a short drive to the Ralphs at Culver Center. The freeway on-ramps are close, which helps anyone commuting north or south, and downtown and the Sony lot are an easy drive east along Washington. The freeway is also the main tradeoff. Blocks closest to the 405 pick up its steady hum, and Sepulveda and Washington both back up at rush hour. Once you are a block or two off the boulevards, the side streets settle down, and the bakery line on a Saturday morning is about as busy as they get.