Elk Grove Florin Road / Elk Grove Boulevard, Elk Grove, CA

This is Old Town Elk Grove territory, the genuinely historic corner of the city. The blocks along Elk Grove Boulevard and East Stockton Boulevard hold more than forty buildings on the National Register, a legacy of 1868, when the railroad came through and the whole town picked up and moved a mile east to meet the tracks. Day to day that means something the rest of Elk Grove cannot fake: walkable historic storefronts, antique shops and boutiques, Boulevard Bistro and the long-running businesses along East Stockton, plus the farmers market and the annual Western Festival. The Union Pacific line still runs through, which is part of the character and part of the noise. The honest read is that Old Town is older everywhere, in the best and the harder senses. The buildings carry real age, upkeep varies from block to block, and the rail corridor and arterials are right there. But this is the one part of Elk Grove with a true main-street past, and for people who want that over a brand-new cul-de-sac, nothing else in town competes.