South Pasadena, South Pasadena, CA

South Pasadena feels like a small town that happens to have a Metro stop, and the station at Mission and Meridian is where most of the city's street life starts. Housing in South Pasadena is mostly older single-family stock. Craftsman houses and bungalows set the tone, with Colonial, Spanish and Mediterranean homes mixed in, plus contemporary infill here and there. Many blocks date to the late 1800s and early 1900s and have been kept rather than rebuilt, so the streetscape reads as one piece. Arroyo Seco Park is the biggest green space, following the streambed north toward Pasadena, with a skate park and the South Pawsadena Dog Park off Stoney Drive and the Arroyo Seco Golf Course next door on Lohman Lane. Garfield Park, near the center of town, has rolling lawns, gardens and mature oaks. Jones Coffee Roasters roasts its own beans on Mission Street a short walk from the platform, and Heirloom Bakery and Cafe sits around the corner on Meridian. Fair Oaks Pharmacy has run as a pharmacy and soda fountain on Mission Street since 1915 and still pulls in Route 66 road-trippers for milkshakes. Pavilions and Grassroots Natural Market sit on Fair Oaks Avenue, and Grocery Outlet is out on Huntington Drive. The public library on Oxley Street sits among old oaks, with a giant fig tree that locals count as the biggest in town. The Metro A Line runs to Pasadena one way and downtown Los Angeles the other. The tradeoff is that the walkable part is compact. Outside the Mission and Meridian blocks, errands mostly happen along Fair Oaks Avenue, a car corridor of chains and strip centers. On Thursdays, the whole town seems to funnel toward the market by the station.