El Sereno, Los Angeles, CA

El Sereno sits on the eastern edge of Los Angeles, bordered by Alhambra, Monterey Park and South Pasadena, and its rolling hills give many streets long views back toward downtown. It was called Bairdstown when the city annexed it in 1915, and the El Sereno name arrived a year later. Most homes are modest single-family houses on decent-sized lots. Early subdivisions like Rose Hill and Sierra Park filled in with 1920s Period Revival houses, and later hillside homes climb the slopes above them. Small apartment buildings mix in along the main roads, and Cal State LA's campus sits inside the neighborhood too. Ascot Hills Park, on land that once held a racetrack, spreads across roughly 93 acres of hilly trail where dogs are welcome. Closer to home, Rose Hill Recreation Center, El Sereno Recreation Center on Klamath Street and Guardia Park handle the ball games and playground time. Huntington Drive is the main commercial spine, and it carries most of the local food. Mama Churro y Mas and Antigua Cultural Coffee House share an address on Huntington Drive South, and Holy Grounds Coffee & Tea on Alhambra Avenue is the other neighborhood coffee stop. On Eastern Avenue, Evil Cooks runs a heavy-metal taqueria with goth-styled tacos. Groceries mostly happen at Food 4 Less and Big Saver Foods, both on Huntington Drive South, while Valley Boulevard adds small markets and a plant nursery. Downtown is under seven miles away, usually a 20 to 45 minute drive depending on traffic. On some blocks, roosters and dogs start the morning before any alarm does. From the top of Ascot Hills, the downtown towers and Dodger Stadium sit in plain view, closer than the quiet streets below would suggest.