Palms, Los Angeles, CA

Palms, founded in 1886, is one of the oldest neighborhoods in Los Angeles and joined the city in 1915, and today it is one of the city's densest, a grid of apartment buildings between Culver City, Mar Vista and Cheviot Hills. Housing in Palms is overwhelmingly multifamily. Rezoning in the mid-20th century replaced much of the early single-family stock with apartment buildings, and most households rent. A scattering of older houses survives between them. The E Line's Palms station opened in 2016, and the Expo Bike Path runs beside the tracks. Woodbine Park is the neighborhood's own green space, and the Palms Recreation Center on Overland Avenue sits just over the line in Cheviot Hills. Bike lanes on Motor Avenue make that an easy ride. Pizzeria Sei on Tabor Street makes Tokyo-style Neapolitan pizza with a chewy, blistered crust, and n/naka on Overland Avenue serves a Michelin-starred kaiseki tasting menu. Coffee Commissary on Motor Avenue is a neighborhood coffee stop, and the Museum of Jurassic Technology and the Center for Land Use Interpretation share a block of Venice Boulevard. Trader Joe's on National Boulevard and on Sepulveda, plus the Motor Avenue Farmers Market, cover groceries, and much of Palms is walkable to a store. Downtown Culver City and its studio lots are close enough to bike, and Venice Boulevard has bike lanes. Density is the tradeoff. Street parking is scarce, and Venice Boulevard traffic runs heavy through most of the day. Within a few blocks, someone in Palms can catch the train, choose between kaiseki and tandoori, and spend an afternoon among the odd exhibits on Venice Boulevard.