Homes For Sale – Page 9 – SoCal Home Blog

With an exploding food scene, unique retail developments, as well as a growing entertainment hub, Downtown Santa Ana, or Historical Downtown, is one of America’s Coolest Cities.

Historical Downtown Santa Ana has been revitalized and the beautify of the Downtown’s retail section continues to attract new businesses, entrepreneurs, and locals looking for a true Southern California urban destination.

A simulation of a street car in Downtown Santa Ana

The Historical Downtown area contains the Santa Ana Civic Center, which includes the Old Orange County Courthouse, the Ronald Reagan Federal Building, the United States Courthouse, and the California Court of Appeal.

The restaurant and retail sections of Historical Downtown Santa Ana have three distinct business districts namely the Artists Village, Calle Cuatro Marketplace and the West and East End.

The Artists Village corridor is a thriving area of art galleries, studios, creative offices, as well as home to several popular restaurants. Located on Second Street at Broadway, in the heart of historic downtown Santa Ana. The village extends from First Street to Fourth Street, and Bush Street to Birch, surrounding the Second Street Mall between Broadway and Sycamore Street.

Originally proposed in the mid-1980s, the village was meant to revitalize one of Orange County’s oldest cities and bring back part of a once-thriving downtown, with dozens of historical buildings, most vacant for years.

The Grand Central Art Center is an anchor and catalyst for a ten-square block area in the heart of downtown designated as the Artists Village. The subsequent success of the Artists Village has helped spawn a cultural and economic renewal.

Lofts were built in the Artist’s Village in theearly 2000s, several live-work loft developments came to the downtown including Main Street Studio Lofts and the Santa Ana Lofts, East Village Lofts as well as Artists Village lofts. These artist-centric developments allowed homeowners to experience downtown living while providing them an opportunity to help the flourishing art movement continue to move forward.

An example of the modern interior of the modern lofts include the Santa Ana Lofts. Interior finishes at Santa Ana Lofts include modern kitchen cabinetry, granite kitchen counter tops and undercounted stainless steel sinks. Commercial grade steel stairs reduce maintenance over long term ownership. Energy Efficient Milgard Low-E Fiberglass windows for reduced outside sound and improved durability over vinyl and steel competitors. Historically influenced brick veneer and brick pavers.

Today, the Artists Village is the home to various restaurants, shops, artist galleries, as well as art institutions, including Cal State Fullerton Grand Central Art Center and the Orange County Center for Contemporary Art.

DOWNTOWN SANTA ANA HOMES FOR SALE | NEW LISTINGS | UNLISTED

East 4th Street (Calle Quatro) (bounded by French Street and Broadway) is a .3 mile corridor lined with a variety of boutique shops, restaurants, as well as various other retail shops and services.

The centerpiece of Historic 4th Street is the East End known as The Fiesta Marketplace. The East End is a pedestrian-friendly outdoor mall that markets to both the local community and a wider socioeconomic demographic in an effort to retain and attract an audience looking for an alternative to indoor malls and chain restaurants.

The newest refurbished amenity is The Frida Cinema; a two-screen theater converted to an art-house theater showcasing independent film and film related progrmaming, community-building, and education.

In February 2015, The 4th Street Market opened, introducing an indoor food market to compliment the expanding food scene. Similar to the Grand Central Market in Downtown Los Angeles or the Boston Public Market, the 4th Street Market includes a variety of tenants including Portola Coffee, Electric City Butcher, as well as host an incubator/accelerator kitchens where up-and-coming food producers can utilize the Market’s facilities to prepare, package, and sell their goods.

The West End (located between Ross Street and Broadway and West 4th Street) is a unique corridor home to many historic buildings and is located directly across the Ronald Reagan Federal Building and United States Courthouse.

Over the past years, this section of the downtown has successfully blossomed into a cultural and entertainment hub for Orange County’s LGBT population, with notable LGBT-friendly destinations including Theater Out, VLVT Lounge, as well as the West 4th Street corridor playing host to the annual Orange County Pride Festival.

Located less than a quarter mile away on Civic Center Drive is the Santa Ana Civic Center, home to several institutional City and County buildings including:

Santa Ana City Hall (Civic Center Plaza)
Santa Ana Civic Center Plaza (Ross, Civic Center, Santa Ana Blvd, Flower)
Santa Ana Public Library (Civic Center Dr. & Ross)
Santa Ana Transit Terminal – OCTA (Santa Ana Blvd & Ross)
Old Orange County Courthouse (Civic Center, Broadway, Sycamore, Santa Ana Blvd.)
Orange County Courthouse (Civic Center Plaza)
Orange County Public Law Library (Civic Center Plaza)
Ronald Reagan Federal Building and United States Courthouse (4th & Broadway)
The Civic Center/Courthouse District

DOWNTOWN SANTA ANA HOMES FOR SALE | NEW LISTINGS | UNLISTED

Corey Chambers, Realty Source Inc, BRE#01889449

Copyright © This free information provided courtesy SoCal Home Blog with information provided by Corey Chambers, Realty Source Inc, BRE#01889449 We are not associated with the homeowner’s association or developer. For more information, contact 888-240-3500 or visit NewHomesInLA.com Licensed in California. All information provided is deemed reliable but is not guaranteed and should be independently verified. Properties subject to prior sale or rental. This is not a solicitation if buyer or seller is already under contract with another broker.

January 2, 2016December 17, 2017

Santa Ana Homes For Sale

SANTA ANA HOMES FOR SALE | NEW LISTINGS | UNLISTED

Santa Ana has a number of perks that provide an improved quality of life for the residents. Disneyland and Knott’s Berry Farm amusement parks are located northeast of Santa Ana, several miles away. Beaches are located around 20 minutes to the south, accessible by the 55 freeway. Huntington Beach and Newport Beach as well as other coastal communities offer world-class shopping, dining, boating, swimming and surfing opportunities.

Santa Ana has several distinct districts. The core of the city is the downtown area, which contains both retail and housing, as well as the Santa Ana Civic Center which is a dense campus of administrative buildings for both the city and the county of Orange.

The Civic Center is also home to the Ronald Reagan Federal Building and Courthouse. Several historic homes dating from the late 1800s can be found as well, and their preservation is a key issue as development of the downtown area continues.

North of downtown is the “Midtown” district along Main St., home to entertainment destinations such as the Bowers Museum, Main Place Mall, and the Discovery Science Center.

Santa Ana Homes for Sale — Discovery Cube – Santa Ana

Near the intersection of the Santa Ana Freeway and the Costa Mesa Freeway is the newly designated “Metro East” area, which the city council has envisioned as a secondary mixed-use development district.

Also on the east side of the city is the Santa Ana Zoo, notable for its collection of monkeys and species from South and Central America.

The south end of the city is home to the South Coast Plaza, a major shopping center, which is the primary destination of this area.

SANTA ANA HOMES FOR SALE | NEW LISTINGS | UNLISTED

Museums

Artist Village and Civic Center
Bowers Museum – History museum started in the 1930s with a large collection of Central American artifacts
Heritage Museum of Orange County (formerly Centennial Heritage Museum) – home of the Kellogg House and other 1890s buildings
CSUF Grand Central Art Center – At the heart of the Artist Village in Santa Ana
Orange County Center for Contemporary Art
El Centro Cultural de México
Santiago Art District
Bowers Museum of Cultural Art
Dr. Willella Howe-Waffle House and Medical Museum

Parks

Delhi Park and El Salvador Park (Artesia Pilar Neighborhood)
Historic Floral Park
Historic French Park

Historic and Community Centers

Downtown Santa Ana Historic Districts.
St. Joseph Catholic Church, established in 1887, renovated in the late 1980s.
Pacific Electric Sub-Station No. 14
Southern (D), Builders Exchange Building
Discovery Science Center
Downtown Santa Ana Historic Districts
Galaxy Theatre
Main Place Mall opened in 1987
OC Pavilion performing arts center and 5-star restaurant Ambrosia
Santa Ana Civic Center
Santa Ana College
Santa Ana Public Library
Santa Ana Zoo, built in 1960
Santa Ana City Hall
Ronald W Reagan Federal Court House
Riverview Golf Course
Willowick Municipal Golf Course

Neighborhoods of Santa Ana Homes for Sale

Artesia Pilar

Bella Vista

Bristol-Warner

Casa Bonita

Cedar Evergreen

Centennial Park

Central City

Cornerstone Village

Delhi – Below Average

Eastside – Good

Fairhaven – Good

Floral Park – Top

Flower Park – Average

French Court – Good

French Park – Good

Heninger Park – OK

Lacy – Average

Laurelhurst

Logan – Below Average

Lyon Street Average

Mabury Park – Very Good

Madison Park- Average

Memorial Park

Meredith Parkwood

Mid-City

Morning Sunwood

Morrison-Eldridge Park – Very Good

New Horizons – Good | HOMES FOR SALE | UNLISTED HOMES FOR SALE

North Santa Ana

Park Santiago – Top

pasa de santiago – Good

Pico-Lowell – Below Average

Portola Park – Good

Riverview – Good

Riverview West – Good

Sandpointe – Above Average

Santa Ana Triangle

Santa Anita

South Coast – Good

Sunwood Central

Thornton Park

Valley Adams

Washington Square – Very Good

West Floral Park – Top

Willard – Below Average

Wilshire Square – Top

Windsor Village

Windsor Village North

SANTA ANA HOMES FOR SALE | NEW LISTINGS | UNLISTED

December 30, 2015

Manhattan Beach Homes For Sale

MANHATTAN BEACH HOMES FOR SALE | NEW LISTINGS | UNLISTED

If Manhattan Beach has classy beachside cottages, bougainvillea-lined walk-streets, bustling sidewalk patios, friendly boutiques, surfers silhouetted against the setting sun, and all within half a mile of a portrait-worthy pier. It’s that impossibly perfect.

A bastion of surf music and the birthplace of beach volleyball, Manhattan Beach has gone chic. Its downtown area along Manhattan Beach Blvd has seen an explosion of trendy restaurants, boutiques and hotels. Yet, even with this Hollywood-ification, it remains a serene seaside enclave with prime surf on either side of the pier.

There’s a Friday farmers market near city hall, metered parking at the base of the pier and a public parking garage on Valley Dr between Manhattan Beach Blvd and 13th St.

The Perks of Manhattan Beach

Manhattan Beach benefits from ocean breezes that provide clean air and summer temperatures that are 10 to 20 °F (5.6 to 11.1 °C) cooler than the inland regions of Southern California.

The Manhattan Beach Unified School District has test scores ranked #3 in the State of California according to California Department of Education statistics. Forbes Magazine ranked Manhattan Beach Unified as the sixth best School District in the U.S.

According to a July 5, 2014, article in the Beach Reporter newspaper, the city of Manhattan Beach has the most educated residents (according to percentage of residents with bachelor’s degree or higher) than any other city in California.

Manhattan Beach Neighborhoods

Residents have divided the city into several distinct neighborhoods, including the “Sand Section”, “Hill Section”, “Tree Section”, “Gas Lamp Section”, “The Village”, “Manhattan Heights”, “The Knolls”(East Manhattan Beach), “Liberty Village”, “Poet’s Section” (Shelley, Tennyson, Longfellow, Keats), and “El Porto” (North Manhattan Beach).

The “Hill Section” is known for its high priced homes where many of the residences are remodeled or newly constructed. The steep hills allow panoramic ocean and city views.

MANHATTAN BEACH HOMES FOR SALE | NEW LISTINGS | UNLISTED

The nearby “Sand Section” is notable for its quiet walk-street neighborhoods adjacent to the ocean. Oceanfront homes stretch along the bike path and walking lane of “The Strand”.

“Downtown” Manhattan Beach is considered the heart of the city. The area runs along Manhattan Beach Boulevard and the streets perpendicular to the Manhattan Beach Pier and Valley Drive. There are many Zagat rated casual-fine dining restaurants, specialty boutiques and retailers that create a pedestrian friendly, mixed-use downtown center. The new Metlox site includes a luxury boutique hotel, spa, restaurants, shops and underground parking.

The “Rosecrans corridor” is located on the south side of Rosecrans Avenue, east of Sepulveda, and west of Aviation. The Manhattan Beach Country Club, the Marriott Hotel and Golf Course, Fry’s electronics, retail stores, restaurants, supermarkets, and shopping centers border the Rosecrans corridor between Sepulveda and Aviation Boulevards.

The “Sepulveda Corridor” occupies the commercial zone, and is the city’s main north-south highway. The area includes the Manhattan Village Mall, which is located east of Sepulveda Boulevard between Marine and Rosecrans Avenues. The mall, built in the early 1980s, was remodeled in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The mall is anchored by Macy’s on both ends and tenants include Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids, Williams-Sonoma, and the Apple Store.

The “Aviation Corridor” is located along Aviation Boulevard, the zone includes several major entertainment and aerospace complexes, including Manhattan Beach Studios and the Northrop Grumman Space Park Complex. Manhattan Beach Media Campus is home to the production of many popular releases in movies and entertainment, including the Marvel pictures “Thor” and “Iron Man 2” and both sequels to James Cameron’s “Avatar” movie.

MANHATTAN BEACH HOMES FOR SALE | NEW LISTINGS | UNLISTED

Corey Chambers, Realty Source Inc, BRE#01889449

December 30, 2015

Redondo Beach Homes For Sale

REDONDO BEACH HOMES FOR SALE | NEW LISTINGS | UNLISTED

Redondo Beach is one of the three Beach Cities located in Los Angeles County. Redondo Beach is a working-class beach town – it’s also the largest in the South Bay, as it wanders inland and bleeds into neighboring Torrance. Its heart is at King’s Harbor, where the dated pier is still a Southern California icon.

The ocean side of Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) has restaurants and boating activities while inland of PCH is largely residential. Redondo Breakwall is a well-known surf spot in the South Bay.

Many original homes still stand in Redondo Beach neighborhoods, but many small Arts and Crafts style homes have been demolished and replaced with new modern houses. Zoning allowed properties within two to three blocks of the beach to be developed as large, two to three-unit luxury townhomes; inland areas are more likely to have single-family homes.

A revitalized downtown area affectionately termed “Riviera Village” provides locals an opportunity to eat, shop and commune in a quiet atmosphere. Since 2004 several new or newly renovated restaurants have made a positive impact on local options for an on-the-town experience. Downtown also supports a number of independent boutiques and shops specializing in clothing and fashion, as well as at least three wine-tasting galleries.

The Marina, Harbor and Pier complexes are large, planned centers of activity that host Korean seafood restaurants, touristy bars, smaller shops and a games arcade. The pier is a common spot for anglers to cast for a local catch; many residents of inland Los Angeles drive to Redondo Beach to take advantage of the long and unique shape of this pier. The adjacent Marina, located just north of the Pier, is home to another half-dozen restaurants, a seafood shop, and a pub with almost 100 beers on tap. The large, monolithic concrete structures that make up the pier and harbor area stand in stark contrast to the venerable cozy feel of the rest of the South Bay’s neighborhood-style street front architecture; the city continues to consider options for the area as new entertainment and dining chooses to locate in other areas of the Beach Cities.

Lifestyle

Much of the Redondo Beach lifestyle is a blend of the neighborhoods, activities and people of the three Beach Cities of Southern California’s South Bay. Like its sister cities of Hermosa Beach and Manhattan Beach, Redondo’s draw is the beach that links the three cities. Redondo was described as “The Gem Of The Continent” in the Los Angeles Daily Herald in 1887.

The beach starts below the bluffs of Palos Verdes in the south (after Torrance Beach) and carries north to the Redondo Pier. The area of the beach that starts in Palos Verdes is known as “RAT (Right After Torrance) Beach.”

A paved path, called The Strand runs from Torrance through South Redondo, north to Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach, and eventually to Santa Monica. The path is broken by the Redondo Beach King Harbor Marina and Pier complex, where it veers away from water and onto dedicated lanes of surface streets for about a mile before again turning to the ocean in Hermosa Beach. Continuing north from Manhattan Beach, the path stretches to Marina Del Rey.

Surfing is an element of the South Bay lifestyle year-round. Winter storms in the Pacific Ocean sometimes turn typically placid and rolling South Bay waves into large and occasionally dangerous waves, a draw for surfers. Wave heights in December 2005 were some of the largest on record at 15 feet (4.6 m) to 20 feet (6.1 m).

Beach volleyball is another aspect of Redondo Beach’s lifestyle. The wide and flat sand beaches provide the perfect venue for the sport and permanent poles and nets are placed and maintained by the city year-round. Professional tournaments managed by the AVP take place in neighboring Hermosa and Manhattan Beach. Redondo Beach is home to Gold Medalist Kerri Walsh and AVP Pro Casey Jennings.

REDONDO BEACH HOMES FOR SALE | NEW LISTINGS | UNLISTED

Corey Chambers, Realty Source Inc, BRE#01889449

December 29, 2015

Venice Homes For Sale

VENICE HOMES FOR SALE | NEW LISTINGS | UNLISTED

Venice is a boho beach town and has been longtime haven for artists, new agers, road-weary tramps, freaks and free spirits. This is where Jim Morrison and the Doors lit their fire, where Arnold Schwarzenegger pumped himself to stardom, and the place the late Dennis Hopper once called home.

In the early twentieth century, crowds thronged to this ‘Coney Island on the Pacific’ to be poled around by imported gondoliers, walk among Renaissance-style arcaded buildings and listen to Benny Goodman tooting his horn in clubs.

These days, tech and entertainment dollars have fueled a hard charging gentrification that is changing this once low-key enclave with a strong sense of community. Still there are more indie boutiques and cafes than chains, and there’s plenty of innovative architecture and public art.

The Boardwalk, the bike path and the beach are the traditional attractions here, but the whole area’s worth a wander.

Residences and streets

Many of Venice’s houses have their principal entries from pedestrian-only streets and have house numbers on these footpaths. (Automobile access is by alleys in the rear.) The inland walk streets are made up primarily of around 620 single-family homes.

It lies 2 miles away from the nearest freeway, and its unusually dense network of narrow streets was not planned for modern traffic. Mindful of the tourist nature of much of the district’s vehicle traffic, its residents have successfully fought numerous attempts to extend the Marina Freeway (SR 90) into southern Venice.

The Venice Canal Historic District is noteworthy for its man-made canals built in 1905 by developer Abbot Kinney as part of his Venice of America plan. Kinney sought to recreate the appearance and feel of Venice, Italy, in Southern California.

The canals are roughly bounded by Eastern Court on the east, Court A on the south, Strongs Drive on the west, and Court E on the north. There are four east-west canals (Carroll Canal, Linnie Canal, Howland Canal, and Sherman Canal) and two north-south canals (Eastern Canal and Grand Canal). The beautifully lit canals with gondoliers and arched bridges drew widespread publicity and helped sell lots in the development.

The canals were renovated in 1992, with the canals being drained and new sidewalks and walls being built. The canals re-opened in 1993 and have become a desirable and expensive residential section of the city.

The residential district surrounding the remaining canals was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. However, in recent years, there has been extensive renovation work on many of the old houses, and many large, modern houses have been built.

VENICE HOMES FOR SALE | NEW LISTINGS | UNLISTED

Corey Chambers, Realty Source Inc, BRE#01889449

December 29, 2015

Los Feliz Homes For Sale

LOS FELIZ HOMES FOR SALE | NEW LISTINGS | UNLISTED

Feliz means “happy” in Spanish and it’s an accurate name for such a pleasant and livable area of L.A. It’s hard to be down when you’re in walking distance of coffee shops, theaters, boutiques, and sidewalk cafes on Vermont Avenue, between Franklin and Hollywood, or the Hillhurst corridor between Los Feliz Boulevard and Prospect Avenue.

Twenty years ago, when Swingers (film) mania tore through LA like a proto-hipster storm, Los Feliz, emerged as LA’s next great neighborhood. For it was here, north and a touch east of Hollywood, on the clean-swept, tree-lined streets in the shadow of Griffith Park, that packs of aspiring actors and writers lived in one-room apartments housed in old Hollywood relics, and gathered in bars and coffeehouses cracking wise, and dreaming and flirting big. What gave it depth was the fact that Los Feliz has history.

This whole area was once one enormous ranch, called Rancho Los Feliz. In fact, the adobe ranch house, built in the 1830s, still stands. In 1882 Colonel Griffith Jenkins Griffith bought the majority of the ranch and later bequeathed it to the city of LA, forming what became Griffith Park, LA’s largest municipal open space. Early movie studios sprouted in the flats, along with mansions in the hills. These days, however, the hipster hub has migrated east to Echo Park and into Downtown, and Los Feliz is still way too cool to care.

Nestled up against the southern border of Griffith Park, is Hillhurst Avenue. This is one of those big city avenues that is just crammed with cool restaurants, boutiques and watering holes (mostly of the lounge variety here in Los Feliz). For example, you can dine at the Vinoteca Farafalle, a upscale Italian restaurant with an excellent selection of wines; or get Japanese food at Mako; or get really delicious Mexican food at Yuca’s—which is just a shack.

In terms of boutiques, you have Little Boutique of Los Feliz good for clothing. Of course, since you are in Hipster Heaven, you have a number of vintage clothing stores like American Vintage and Oou, both good places to go to keep your wardrobe from getting fresh.

There is also a great indie bookstore, Skylight and a great movie theater, Vista.

But where Los Feliz really shines is the cool lounges. The Good Luck Bar (a lounge that makes you feel like you are in China), Covell—a very sophisticated wine bar that makes you feel like you are in a Post-Modern version of Madmen, the Drawing Room, a great dive bar, and, of course, the Dresden—the joint that you may know from Swingers. It is definitely worth a visit in and of itself.

In terms of living in the area, North of Los Feliz Blvd., nestled up against the hills by Griffith Park are some really beautiful homes from various architectural styles, but all exuding a feeling of wealth. You get everything from really cool looking Tudors to Spanish Revival, to Ranch Homes up in this area.

There is one odd section of the neighborhood built on a horseshoe set up that just has a plethora of these homes that most anyone would consider themselves lucky to live in. There is also a section of the neighborhood that has a high percentage of wonderful Fairytale Cottages.

Most people who live in the area will also tell you that it is a very walkable neighborhood in way that few LA neighborhoods are. If you want to take an early evening walk, check out the sunset and the Hollywood sign, and some of the Frank Lloyd Wright homes in the area, you can spend a pleasant evening doing so.

Lots of people from the creative professions live here and many people from different cultures. Overall, it is a gem hidden right in the middle of Los Angeles.

LOS FELIZ HOMES FOR SALE | NEW LISTINGS | UNLISTED

Corey Chambers, Realty Source Inc, BRE#01889449

December 29, 2015

Santa Monica Homes For Sale

SANTA MONICA HOMES FOR SALE | NEW LISTINGS | UNLISTED

There are literally a million and one different reasons that you would want to call Santa Monica your home. Maybe the biggest reason that so many people are looking at different Santa Monica homes for their next big move is strictly because of the caliber of weather. You would be hard pressed to find even a single person that was unhappy with the day to day weather of southern California, and would have just as difficult a time finding people in Santa Monica homes that didn’t count it as a major reason for their move.

You’ll be able to jump into the Ocean inside of just a few minutes no matter where your new Santa Monica home is, the kind of access that people dream of almost every single day.

LAX is just miles away to make hitting any spot on the planet a possibility. You can be out of your door and on a flight around the world inside of an hour, which is the perfect thing to do from time to time to really help you better appreciate just how incredible the Santa Monica homes really are!

The last thing you need to know about why people make the move to Santa Monica is that it has as much to do with an inner change than an outer one. Sure, we’ve all dreamed of how our lives would be different if we could live on a beach house in a world class town like Santa Monica, but the residents there actually get to see what happens when they make the shift. People become more alive, more awake, more caring – it’s a whole mindset shift that can take you to another planet without ever having to leave the country you love so much.

Modern Santa Monica

Santa Monica has a dramatic setting over 200 feet above the beach with rugged cliffs that drop-off along the shoreline. The city enjoys fresh sea breezes coming in from the Pacific Ocean with an average year round temperature near 70 degrees Fahrenheit. For surfers and skateboarders, Santa Monica also borders funky, world famous Venice Beach.

Santa Monica features world class hotels, restaurants and shopping. It is really a place to be, if you want to have fun in the sun playing beach volleyball, biking, rollerblading or “people watching” to your heart’s content. For the more adventurous, a hike in the near by Santa Monica Mountains will be a rewarding experience.

For the Earth-loving, you will be delighted to know that Santa Monica is a “green” city with bicycle-friendly streets. The people in Santa Monica believe in creating a healthier, cleaner, safer and more beautiful city.

Shopping, Parks, and More

Santa Monica has three main shopping districts, Montana Avenue on the north side of the city, the Downtown District in the city’s core, and Main Street on the south end of the city. Each of these districts has its own unique feel and personality.

Montana Avenue is a stretch of luxury boutique stores, restaurants, and small offices that generally features more upscale shopping. The Main Street district offers an eclectic mix of clothing, restaurants, and other specialty retail.

The Downtown District is the home of the Third Street Promenade, a major outdoor pedestrian-only shopping district that stretches for three blocks. Third Street is closed to vehicles for those three blocks to allow people to stroll, congregate, shop and enjoy street performers.

Santa Monica Place, featuring Bloomingdale’s and Nordstrom in a three-level outdoor environment, is located at the south end of the Promenade. After a period of redevelopment, the mall reopened in the fall of 2010 as a modern shopping, entertainment and dining complex with more outdoor space.

The oldest movie theater in the city is the Majestic. Also known as the Mayfair Theatre, the theater which opened in 1912 has been closed since the 1994 Northridge earthquake.

The Aero Theater (now operated by the American Cinematheque) and Criterion Theater were built in the 1930s and still show movies. The Santa Monica Promenade alone supports more than a dozen movie screens.

Palisades Park stretches out along the crumbling bluffs overlooking the Pacific and is a favorite walking area to view the ocean. It includes a totem pole, camera obscura, artwork, benches, picnic areas, pétanque courts, and restrooms.

Tongva Park occupies 6 acres between Ocean Avenue and Main Street, just south of Colorado Avenue. The park includes an overlook, amphitheater, playground, garden, fountains, picnic areas, and restrooms.

The Santa Monica Stairs, a long, steep staircase that leads from north of San Vicente down into Santa Monica Canyon, is a popular spot for all-natural outdoor workouts.

SANTA MONICA HOMES FOR SALE | NEW LISTINGS | UNLISTED

Santa Monica Beach Culture

It’s a small city with forward-thinking social and environmental ideals and fascist parking codes. Here, you’ll navigate a landscape of surf rats, skate punks, string bikinis, yoga freaks, psychics, street performers and a prodigious homeless population. Here’s a place where real-life Lebowskis sip white Russians next to martini-swilling Hollywood producers, celebrity chefs dine at family-owned taquerias, and soccer moms and career bachelors shop shoulder to shoulder at abundant farmers markets.

Most, if not all, of which can be found along a stretch of sublime coastline that cradles the city to the west, and laps at the heels of an undulating mountain range that defines the entire LA area to the north. This is Santa Monica – LA’s cute, alluring, hippie-chic little sister, its karmic counterbalance and, to many, its salvation.

The Santa Monica Pier

Once the very end of the mythical Route 66, the Santa Monica Pier dates back to 1908, and is the city’s most compelling landmark. There are arcades, carnival games, a vintage carousel, a Ferris wheel, a roller coaster, and an aquarium, and the pier comes alive with free concerts (Twilight Dance Series) and outdoor movies in the summertime.

The thing here is the view: extending almost a quarter mile over the Pacific, you can stroll to the edge, hang out among the motley anglers, and lose yourself in the rolling, blue-green sea.

Kids get their kicks at Pacific Park , a small amusement park with a solar-powered Ferris wheel, kiddy rides, midway games and food stands.

Peer under the pier the Heal the Bay’s Santa Monica Pier Aquarium. Sea stars, crabs, sea urchins and other critters and crustaceans scooped from the bay stand by to be petted – ever so gently, please – in their adopted touch-tank homes.

South of the pier is the Original Muscle Beach, where the Southern California exercise craze began in the mid-20th century, and new equipment now draws a new generation of fitness fanatics. Close by, the search for the next Bobby Fischer is on at the International Chess Park .

SANTA MONICA HOMES FOR SALE | NEW LISTINGS | UNLISTED

Corey Chambers, Realty Source Inc, BRE#01889449

December 24, 2015

Mount Washington Homes For Sale

MOUNT WASHINGTON HOMES FOR SALE | NEW LISTINGS | UNLISTED

Mount Washington is a neighborhood in the San Rafael Hills of Northeast Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1909, it is a historic area with one high-achieving elementary school within it. It includes the Southwest Museum, the world headquarters of the Self-Realization Fellowship, and Eldred Street, one of the three steepest streets in Los Angeles.

The district is generally considered the most affluent area of the East Side. The “beauty and the quirky nature of Mount Washington” has inspired songs. In recent years, many homebuyers have become attracted to the area as a relatively affordable alternative to the Westside.

San Rafael Hills

The San Rafael Hills define the valley area of Pasadena and San Marino, and retain a large aquifer on the hills’ north side, from the San Gabriel Valley.

They were the homeland, with settlements, of the Tongva Native American people for over 8,000 years before the Spanish invasion and colonization of the late 18th century. They are named after the Rancho San Rafael, an 1874 Spanish land grant beyond the hills to the west. The rancho was later acquired by Henry E. Huntington for his residence, gardens, and library, and real estate development.

The Southwest Museum of the American Indian is a museum, library, and archive located in the Mt. Washington area . It is part of the Autry National Center. Its collections deal mainly with Native Americans.

Major collections include rooms devoted to 1) American Indians of the Great Plains, 2) American Indians of California, and 3) American Indians of the Northwest Coast.

Self-Realization Fellowship (SRF) is a worldwide spiritual non-profit religious organization for the preservation and worldwide dissemination of writings and teachings, including Kriya Yoga.

Elvis Presley reportedly visited the Self-Realization Fellowship in the late 1960s, commenting to the founder, a monk who had left an acting career to devote his life to the fellowship, “Man, you made the right choice. People don’t know my life or that I sometimes cry myself to sleep because I don’t know God.”

SRF_Headquarters_at_3880_San_Rafael_Dr. — Self-Realization Fellowship

Eldred and Baxter Streets

Eldred Street was constructed in 1912. On clear days, it offers a commanding view of Highland Park against a backdrop of Mt. Wilson and Mt. Baldy to the east.

Baxter Street was laid out in 1884. Parts of it are paved with grooved concrete designed to improve traction in rainy weather.

They don’t make streets like these anymore in Los Angeles; 32% grades that climbs a ridge east of the Silver Lake Reservoir, crosses over the top of the hill and immediately drops off on the other side.

Unsuspecting motorists gasp when they reach the crest and discover the roadway in front of them has dropped out of sight and there is nothing but empty space in front of their car’s hood.

eldred-street-los-angeles — Eldred Street

MOUNT WASHINGTON HOMES FOR SALE | NEW LISTINGS | UNLISTED

Corey Chambers, Realty Source Inc, BRE#01889449

December 23, 2015

Echo Park Homes For Sale

ECHO PARK HOMES FOR SALE | NEW LISTINGS | UNLISTED

Echo Park is, depending on your point of view: the poor man’s Silver Lake, the rich man’s Highland Park, the Williamsburg of the West Coast, a 40,455-person working-class burg full of diversity and a wee bit of gang violence. Or, it’s that strange little neighborhood you drive through getting to Dodger Stadium.

Echo Park, is near practically everything that matters, save for the Pacific Ocean and the Museum of Jurassic Technology. It’s a stone’s throw from Chinatown, a short bike ride from Downtown L.A., Silver Lake and Los Feliz. It’s also surrounded by four major freeways, the 5, The 2, The 110 and The 101.

Echo Park the park has a placid man-made reservoir-turned-lake, circa 1860 that’s undergone a massive cleaning and renovation and features a charming bridge leading to a teensy island, ducks, palm trees, a jogging path.

Echo Park is a historic and diverse neighborhood where you’ll find everything from Dodger Stadium, the home of our beloved Los Angeles Dodgers, to Echo Park Lake, which reopened recently after a $45-million renovation. Locals and visitors alike enjoy paddle-boating around the lake, while the surrounding area continues to experience a retail, recreation and restaurant renaissance.

BAXTER STREET STAIRS

There are over two dozen sets of stairs all over Echo Park, with some dating back to before automobiles and even paved streets. Thanks to their ultra-high vantage point, the Baxter Street Stairs provide some of the most breathtaking views in Los Angeles. Beginning at 1501 Baxter St. and ending at 2101 Park Dr., the 231-step ascent will treat you to views of Downtown L.A., the Griffith Observatory and the Hollywood Sign. If you want to continue your urban hike, there are numerous walking trails at Elysian Park, located across the street.

CARROLL AVENUE

Step back in time on Carroll Avenue, located in one of the oldest neighborhoods in Los Angeles, Angelino Heights. This historic street is lined with Victorian manors that date to the 19th century.

Note the Victorian architectural features as you stroll down Carroll Avenue, including the distinctive lamp posts as well as hitching posts that secured horses back in the day. The entire 1300 block of Carroll Avenue was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976, and several homes have been named Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments.

CHAVEZ RAVINE ARBORETUM

Located in Elysian Park just north of Dodger Stadium, the Chavez Ravine Arboretum is the first and oldest arboretum in Southern California. Founded in 1893 by the Los Angeles Horticultural Society, the arboretum features over 100 varieties of trees from all over the world. Many trees are the oldest and largest of their kind in the state, and in some cases in the United States. Admission to the unfenced arboretum is free, and during your visit you’ll be treated to sightings of birds, including woodpeckers, hummingbirds and ravens.

ECHO PARK HOMES FOR SALE | NEW LISTINGS | UNLISTED

Corey Chambers, Realty Source Inc, BRE#01889449

December 22, 2015April 1, 2020

Eagle Rock Homes For Sale

EAGLE ROCK HOMES FOR SALE | NEW LISTINGS | UNLISTED

Eagle Rock is a neighborhood of Northeast Los Angeles in the San Rafael Hills, Los Angeles County, California.

Eagle Rock is named after a large rock outcropping, resembling an eagle with its wings outstretched.

Eagle Rock maintains a low-key vibe despite its soaring accolades as northeast LA’s most lavishly rooted-in-bohemia neighborhoods. Jukeboxes still jam in the neighborhood’s returned-to-trendy diners and vinyl still spins in its used bookstores. This imperceptibly discerning destination is so copacetic, you’ll forget you’re in the movie-making capital of the nation until you see a film crew along its quintessentially quaint main boulevards. Take five, hike to the top of its eponymous rock, and breathe in crisp nostalgia.

Today it is an ethnically diverse, relatively high-income neighborhood known for being the home of Occidental College and for a counterculture element among its 34,000+ people.

The neighborhood is home to many historic and architecturally significant homes, many done in the Craftsman, Georgian, Streamline Moderne, Art Deco and Mission Revival styles.

The neighborhood is inhabited by a wide variety of ethnic and socioeconomic groups and the creative class. Over the past decade the Eagle Rock and neighboring Highland Park have been experiencing gentrification as young urban professionals have moved from nearby neighborhoods such as Los Feliz and Silver Lake. A core of counter-culture writers, artists and filmmakers has existed in Eagle Rock since the 1920s.

Eagle Rock is an area of L.A. in the midst of a major boom. As urban professionals and families are increasingly priced out of areas like Los Feliz, Silver Lake and Echo Park, Eagle Rock with its hipster vibe, mix of class levels, and neighborhood feel becomes home. Discuss the community and find other info on our Facebook page: Eagle Rock

EAGLE ROCK HOMES FOR SALE | NEW LISTINGS | UNLISTED

Category: Homes For Sale

Downtown Santa Ana Homes For Sale

DOWNTOWN SANTA ANA HOMES FOR SALE | NEW LISTINGS | UNLISTED

DOWNTOWN SANTA ANA HOMES FOR SALE | NEW LISTINGS | UNLISTED

DOWNTOWN SANTA ANA HOMES FOR SALE | NEW LISTINGS | UNLISTED

Corey Chambers, Realty Source Inc, BRE#01889449

Santa Ana Homes For Sale

SANTA ANA HOMES FOR SALE | NEW LISTINGS | UNLISTED

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Neighborhoods of Santa Ana Homes for Sale

Eagle Rock Homes For Sale

Corey Chambers, Realty Source Inc, BRE#01889449