Upper Rancho, Arcadia, CA

Upper Rancho is the Arcadia neighborhood right beside the Los Angeles County Arboretum, and the peafowl that wander out of the gardens treat its lawns as their own. The name comes from Lucky Baldwin's Rancho Santa Anita, and the estate-scale lots still carry some of that ranch-era sense of room. Homes are large single-family houses on expansive lots, set along wide streets with mature landscaping. Styles run from traditional Colonial to contemporary, with plenty of sprawling ranch houses in between. Some original homes have given way to bigger new builds, so a block can mix a low mid-century house with a two-story custom next door. The Arboretum is the neighborhood's great amenity, 127 acres of gardens around Baldwin Lake, open daily and a short walk or drive away depending on your street. The Queen Anne Cottage on its grounds is the one people recognize from the opening of Fantasy Island. Beyond the garden gates, most dining is a quick drive. Hipico Rooftop sits on top of the Hilton Arcadia on West Huntington Drive, pouring cocktails with Baja-inspired plates and sunset views of the mountains. Daily life is car-based. There are no shops inside Upper Rancho, so groceries and errands mean a trip to the Baldwin Avenue plazas or the mall, and the 210 Freeway is the usual way out toward Pasadena or the rest of the San Gabriel Valley. The peafowl come with the address. They are striking to watch and loud at dawn in breeding season, and they will happily walk across a car roof. Most people here end up with favorite birds they recognize by sight.