Harvard Heights, Los Angeles, CA

Harvard Heights is a Los Angeles neighborhood of large Craftsman houses built in a burst between about 1902 and 1910, and it holds the only remaining Greene and Greene house in the city. The Wheeler-Weil house on Cambridge Street sits among blocks designed by the Heinemann brothers, Hunt and Eager, and Frank M. Tyler. Most homes are two-story Craftsman designs with high ceilings and detailed woodwork, and many have been restored inside and out. A Historic Preservation Overlay Zone covering 34 blocks was adopted in 2000, so exteriors change slowly. Some big houses have been divided into units, and apartment buildings line the busier streets. The neighborhood's food tilts toward Oaxaca and Central America. Pico Boulevard has Las 7 Regiones de Oaxaca, Salvadoran spots like Pulgarcito and Nuevo Santaneco, and Melkam Ethiopian Restaurant at the western end. For coffee, the Alibi Coffee Co. shop on Venice Boulevard is the local stop. Outdoor space centers on the Normandie Recreation Center on Normandie Avenue, plus the Mizuki Akiyama Playground nearby. For a longer walk, the tree canopy on the residential blocks is the draw, and Griffith Park is a drive north. Errands are handled on Western Avenue, where Food 4 Less covers the grocery run, and on Pico and Venice, which carry markets, bakeries and taco trucks. The Ray Charles Memorial Library is on Washington Boulevard. The D Line station at Wilshire and Western is a short bus ride north, and the 10 Freeway is close for commuting. The tradeoff is the mix of blocks. Restored Craftsman streets sit right beside busy commercial corridors, and some houses still wait for their turn at restoration. Walking the Harvard Heights side streets is a lesson in what Los Angeles looked like when the city was a young streetcar suburb, with porch after porch facing the street.