South of Conant, Long Beach, CA

South of Conant takes its name from its northern edge, a compact grid of postwar homes on the east side of Long Beach between Conant Street and Spring Street, with Clark Avenue on the west and Woodruff Avenue on the east. Walk a block and you'll see added wings, second-story additions, new rooflines and rebuilt front yards, so the uniform tract has turned into a street-by-street mix of original cottages and full rebuilds. Wardlow Park, on Stanbridge Avenue, is the South of Conant gathering spot, with ball fields, playgrounds, a spray pool and an indoor recreation center. On the western side, Skylinks at Long Beach has been a public 18-hole course since 1959, laid out as a links-style track with three lakes and a night-lit driving range, and its clubhouse cafe does breakfast and lunch. Spring Street carries the daily errands. A Vons anchors the shopping center at the south edge, with a Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf and a few casual spots next to it. For a coffee with more personality, Memento Coffee Works sits just across Woodruff Avenue in Plaza, known for its spare, calm room and ube latte. The airport is the tradeoff. The neighborhood sits beside the field rather than under the main commercial approach, but small planes and helicopters pass overhead through the day, and it shows up more on some blocks than others. Most trips are by car, with the 405 close by. Weekends here tend to run on a short loop: a round or a bucket of balls at Skylinks, a game at Wardlow Park, and a stop at the Spring Street Vons on the way home.