Manchester Square, Los Angeles, CA

Spanish-style houses with red tile roofs and stucco in soft pinks, greens and blues line the side streets of Manchester Square, a South Los Angeles neighborhood along Western Avenue between Florence and Century. Circle Park, a small round green with palms and a fountain on West 76th Street, gives the grid a center that most nearby blocks lack. Most homes went up in the 1920s and 1930s, and the Spanish look sits alongside Mediterranean houses and the occasional Tudor on a corner lot. Lots are modest and the houses are mostly single story, with duplexes, small apartment buildings and townhomes mixed in closer to the big streets. Western Avenue is where people eat. D's Original Take Out Grill handles barbecue a few blocks south, and Starbucks and ZENSHI Handcrafted Sushi share a corner on Manchester Avenue. The southern end of the neighborhood has the most room outdoors. Jesse Owens Park sits on Western near Century Boulevard, Maggie Hathaway Golf Course is off 98th Street, and St. Andrews Recreation Center on St. Andrews Place has fields and a playground. Circle Park is more for a slow walk around the fountain. Groceries are close. King's Market, Superior Grocers and a Food 4 Less all sit on Western, so most errands are a short drive or a long walk. Metro buses run Western and Manchester, the Harbor Freeway is a few minutes east, and the stadium district in Inglewood is a quick hop west. Western Avenue itself is the tradeoff. It carries heavy traffic, and between the favorites it's a string of fast food, auto shops and parking lots. Turn a block off it, though, and the houses of Manchester Square get quiet quickly, with the pastel stucco and tile roofs doing most of the talking.