North Palmdale, Palmdale, CA

North Palmdale sits right up against Air Force Plant 42, the sprawling complex where Lockheed's Skunk Works, Northrop Grumman and Boeing have built and flown aircraft like the B-2 and the SR-71. That history is on display a few blocks from home, which makes this corner different from anywhere else in the city. Joe Davies Heritage Airpark on East Avenue P is the neighborhood's front yard. The city-run park displays 21 retired military aircraft, including a Boeing 747 that once carried the Space Shuttle, a B-52 Stratofortress and an F-14 Tomcat, and admission and parking are free. The homes are a mix of single-family tract houses and older properties on the streets south of the plant, many of them on the flat, open ground that defines this part of the Antelope Valley. It's a working part of town, with offices and small businesses clustered around Sierra Court, and the aerospace plants that grew the city after the 1950s are part of the daily view. Restaurants and groceries are mostly outside the neighborhood. The downtown stretch of the boulevard is a short drive south, with Vallarta Supermarkets and a long row of taquerias and cafes, and Lucky Luke Brewing on West Avenue O is close for a pint. Living beside an active Air Force plant is the tradeoff. Flight testing and jet traffic are part of the soundtrack, and the big industrial parcels make for long, empty walks between anything. North Palmdale is the one neighborhood where a weekend outing can mean standing under the wing of a B-52, then driving home a few minutes later.