Larchmont Village splits the difference between Los Feliz and Beverly Hills -- more upscale than the former, but less snooty than the latter.
This happy middle ground is centered on a stretch of cafes and boutiques in the heart of Hancock Park on Larchmont Boulevard between 1st and 3rd streets. It radiates history (at least by Southern California standards) and -- despite the arrival of a Starbucks and a Rite-Aid drugstore -- retains a small-town charm.
Looking back
The self-proclaimed "village" is actually part of Los Angeles -- the westernmost stop on the city's trolley system when it was developed in 1921.
In the 1920s, businessman Julius LaBonte saw the promise of the area and built a movie theater, gas station, dry cleaner, clothing stores and a hair salon.
Later, it was used as a location for movies featuring the Three Stooges and Buster Keaton. The strip still has many of the original buildings -- unusual in a city where tear-downs are the norm.
"For decades, Larchmont was a well-kept secret," says Paul Thompson, owner of the Village Heights jewelry and gift shop and president of the Larchmont Boulevard Assn.
"But in the past 10 to 15 years, we've been 'discovered,' along with Santa Monica's Montana Avenue and Pasadena's Old Town."
Community feel
Although the area still skews wealthy and white, Larchmont is starting to diversify. Residents of nearby ethnic neighborhoods frequent the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf alongside Hollywood personalities and students from the exclusive Marlborough School, who roll up their skirts and sip iced mochas after classes.
The Mid-Wilshire revival brought in baby boomers and young professionals, further diluting the "Old Guard" atmosphere. And the 36-year-old Center for Yoga offers an eclectic mix of classes ($15 each) in a former Masonic temple, adding another element to the family-oriented mix.
Dogs and baby carriages are staples, says actress Sharon Lawrence ("NYPD Blue"), who lives within walking distance. "Once the bastion of folks from the Los Angeles Tennis Club and the Wilshire Country Club, [the latter of] which barred blacks and Jews, Larchmont had to change -- for the better," she says, adding that the community comes together during events like the family street fair each October and a local restaurant fundraiser in August. "Larchmont is its own Mayberry, in the best sense of the word."
Weekend buzz
