Media District, Burbank, CA

The Media District is the studio side of Burbank, where Warner Bros. and a cluster of office towers meet a long run of restaurants on Riverside Drive at the Toluca Lake line. The Warner Bros. Studio Tour runs out of the lot on Warner Boulevard, and the daily rhythm of the area follows production schedules. Homes in the Media District are mostly postwar houses from the 1940s, single-story bungalows and ranch-style homes on flat streets, with condos and apartment buildings between them and the commercial corridors. Remodels are common, and the residential pockets feel removed from the offices only a block or two away. Riverside Drive has the best-known tables. The Smoke House on Lakeside Drive has served prime rib and its garlic bread since 1946. For mornings, Alfred Coffee on North Maple is known for its iced vanilla latte, and Priscilla's has been pouring coffee on Riverside since 1970. Park land is the weak spot. The Media District has little of its own, so walkers head to Johnny Carson Park in Rancho Adjacent, Verdugo Park to the north, or the dirt trails of Griffith Park across the river. Whole Foods on West Olive handles groceries, and the Ventura and Hollywood freeways are both close. Coffee and dinner are easy to reach on foot from many blocks, though most errands beyond Riverside still involve a car. Studio traffic is the constant cost. Commuters and production vehicles crowd Olive, Alameda and Riverside at the start and end of the workday, and a big shoot or premiere can take over nearby curb space. Late in the evening, with the office towers mostly dark, the neon on Bob's is still one of the brightest things on Riverside.