Mayfair, Alhambra, CA

Mayfair is often called the most intact of Alhambra's original neighborhoods, a 1930s tract in the southern part of the city where the period houses have largely survived without teardowns. Its Tudor Revival homes give it a look distinct from the Craftsman streets of nearby Ramona Park. Homes here are mostly single-story houses from the 1930s. Lots are modest and the streets feel consistent from end to end, the kind of setting where a front yard garden and an original leaded window still stand out. West Valley Boulevard, on the neighborhood's edge, handles food. Pepe's Finest Mexican Food is the go-to for burritos and combination plates, and Kim Chuy in the plaza serves Chiu Chow style noodle soups. Alhambra Donuts on South Atlantic Boulevard covers the morning. Outdoor space inside Mayfair is limited to the streets themselves, which make an easy evening loop past the Tudor facades. For grass and room to run, Granada Park on Hellman Avenue in Ramona Park is the nearby choice. Errands run along Valley Boulevard, where Asian supermarkets, bakeries and banks cluster in the plazas, and along Atlantic Boulevard to the east. A car is the norm, although the blocks nearest Valley can walk to dinner. The 10 freeway is only minutes to the south. The tradeoff is the lack of a park inside the neighborhood and the noise and traffic along Valley and Atlantic. On the interior streets, though, a slow walk shows block after block of 1930s rooflines, which is exactly what makes Mayfair different from the busier tracts around it.