Sun Valley, Los Angeles, CA

Sun Valley spreads across the flats below the Verdugo Mountains in the northeast Valley, a hardworking part of Los Angeles where former gravel pits, truck yards and industrial lots share space with quiet residential streets. It took its current name in 1950, and it borders Burbank, North Hollywood, Pacoima and the horse country of Shadow Hills. Homes vary by area. Much of the neighborhood is 1940s and 1950s ranch houses and small bungalows on generous lots, many with room for trucks, RVs or a big garden. Some eastern streets keep animal-keeping lots that blend into Shadow Hills. Outdoor space leans toward the hills. La Tuna Canyon Park has trails into the Verdugos, and the Tujunga Wash greenway follows the channel toward the Valley floor. Sun Valley Park on Vineland has a pool and ball fields, and Fernangeles Recreation Center on Laurel Canyon adds an auditorium and courts. The best-known meal in the area is the weekend food court at Wat Thai of Los Angeles on Coldwater Canyon Avenue, where about fifteen vendors sell boat noodles and khao soi every Saturday and Sunday. Along Sunland Boulevard and Glenoaks, family spots like Masis Bakery and Old Time Drive In cover everyday eating. Errands run through Ralphs on Laurel Canyon, Grocery Outlet on Glenoaks and a scattering of produce markets. The 5 and the 170 cross the neighborhood, and Hollywood Burbank Airport sits at the southeast corner, which makes flights easy to catch. Metrolink trains stop at Sun Valley station on San Fernando Road. Industry is the main tradeoff. Truck traffic and airport noise reach some blocks, and poor drainage makes parts of the neighborhood flood in big storms. On the residential side streets of Sun Valley, though, those big lots are the draw, with space for a workshop or a garden that is hard to find elsewhere in the Valley.