If Montrose, where one-of-a-kind mom-and-pop shops have been the rule and corporate businesses the exception for 90 years, is archetypal Main Street U.S.A., then neighboring Sparr Heights is its residential equivalent. The architecturally diverse, well-manicured homes reflect the same pride of ownership that distinguishes Montrose shops.

Parts of old Moorpark look much the same as they did in the 1920s, and the area is still home to horse ranches and agriculture. But for one glowing hour in 1957, Moorpark was on the cusp of modernity as the first community in the United States to be powered by nuclear energy.

Between the Hollywood sign and the bustle of Hollywood itself is a canyon community that more than 22,000 call home. The uppermost portion of the canyon, originally dubbed "Hollywoodland" in the 1920s, was developed first. Today, the area stretching along Beachwood Drive from Franklin Avenue to the Hollywood sign is called Beachwood Canyon.

Once a stop on the Butterfield Overland stagecoach line, Temecula has grown from a sleepy cow town to a sprawling bedroom community of 75,000. The southwest Riverside County city has preserved an Old

Through attention to planning that was evident right from the neighborhood's origins in the 1950s and '60s, the Highlands of Arcadia manages to stay in harmony with its attractive natural setting in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains.

Winnetka looks much like the rest of the central San Fernando Valley, with sturdy 1950s ranch-style tract homes, corner churches and supermarkets. But the community got its start as an avant-garde communal living experiment.

It's the bottom of the ninth at Dodger Stadium, and the third out is called and the players head for the dugout. The streamers fall at Staples Center as the Lakers hit the showers. The buzzer sounds as the Kings skate off the ice. After the fans have filed out, where do the pros go? Many head to Manhattan Beach, where their kids play in the surf and the neighbors wave hello with buffed biceps.

Tucked among rolling green hills and tree-lined avenues, Cheviot Hills is a bedroom community with the Westside at its doorstep. Below the hub of Fox Studios and Century City, it is about a mile from Beverly Hills. With distinctive homes ranging from Aiken cottages to stunning estates, Cheviot Hills is also a residential development from a bygone era.

Art and architecture have flourished in the Highland Park neighborhood of Los Angeles since its beginnings in the 1880s along the Arroyo Seco. The business district developed in the 1920s and '30s, a few decades after the residential area was established. The community is home today to about 66,000.

Downtown Fullerton was a shell of its original self just two decades ago. But after years of revitalization, the 80-acre residential and commercial core is the bustling heart of this 116-year-old city

The South Bay enclave, with architecturally diverse homes and mature trees, is known for its scenic charm and small-town vibe. And residents are within walking distance of some of the best parks, shops and restaurants in the area.

It's a park in name only, and magnolias can be hard to find. But Burbank's Magnolia Park lures home buyers with its shady streets, well-maintained homes dating to the 1940s, central location and a boulevard of eclectic shops that has yet to be subdued by chain stores.

Simi Valley, a magnet for families today, morphed from an agricultural to a bedroom community for first-time buyers and aerospace workers at the height of the Cold War. All that remains of the cattle

Don't judge Tujunga by its main drag, Foothill Boulevard, or by its past reputation as a biker playground. Beyond the seedy boulevard, residents have discovered beauty, poetry, history and affordable

Residents of San Fernando believe the Franciscan fathers got it right in 1797 when, with the entire valley before them, they selected the site of the San Fernando Mission. Once home to orange and olive groves, the community that sprang up nearby still has enough trees to be named a Tree City USA by the National Arbor Day Foundation.

Westwood is a college town with intellectual flavor and an appetite for development. The Westside community, five miles from the beach, is home to UCLA and more than 27,000 residents. About a third of

Corona, once nicknamed "the lemon capital of the world," seems poised to add a new citrus title: Orange County East. This city on the western edge of Riverside County is being transformed by an influx of émigrés from coastal communities who want more square footage for their housing dollar.

Touted for its authentic Craftsman bungalows and old-fashioned community spirit, Jefferson Park, in central Los Angeles, is becoming a mecca for families seeking a slice of early 20th century L.A. The district, bordered by Crenshaw Boulevard, Western Avenue and Adams and Exposition boulevards, was developed from 1905 to 1920.

In Adams Hill, an eclectic hillside neighborhood in southeast Glendale, the architecture is as diverse as the population. Vintage 1920s homes sit between mid-century moderns, and button-down and bohemian residents live alongside working-class immigrants.

Anchored by the NoHo Arts District with its art galleries, restaurants and more than 20 live theaters, North Hollywood attracts an eclectic mix of entertainment industry workers and artists, families and merchants. The east San Fernando Valley city is freeway close to downtown, Hollywood and the Westside, and is where Metro Rail's Red Line begins.

Corona del Mar is a seaside section of Newport Beach, considered almost a city unto itself that winds along Coast Highway north of Crystal Cove State Park. The area's old-style charm sets it apart as a distinctive village composed of about eight cohesive neighborhoods, each of them serene, gorgeous and high-priced.

Canyon Lake is a well-hidden slice of recreational living tucked into the rumpled, scrub-covered hills of western Riverside County. With the air of a prospering time-share resort, the gated city surro

Claremont, a city of 36,000 on the eastern edge of the San Gabriel Valley, is a lot like the prom queen who is class valedictorian: beauty and brains. With 23,500 trees on public land and more than 10,000 residents with advanced degrees, it's no wonder that Claremont is called the "city of trees and PhDs."

Monrovia is a mix of muckraker and Mayberry. It was once home to exposé-writing Upton Sinclair. Today, older neighborhoods of moderately priced homes on tree-lined streets attract families. Called the "Gem City of the Foothills," it is bounded by the Angeles National Forest to the north, Bradbury and Duarte on the east and Arcadia to the south and west.

Amid the urban sprawl just off the Santa Ana Freeway in west Tustin are several blocks of homes and businesses known as Old Town. This village of 900 homes from the 1880s to the 1950s mixes the old with the new in a patchwork community reminiscent of bygone days.

Surfers, sand-castle builders, strollers. The residents of Seal Beach welcome all of them to their picturesque seaside community, as long as they tidy up the beach before they leave. The Pacific Coast Highway town works hard to keep the quality of life high for its 25,000 residents, from holding monthly beach cleanups to planting 600 trees in the last six years.

Bradbury, an affluent bedroom community in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains, has just 938 residents within its 1.9 square miles. The tiny San Gabriel Valley city has no apartment buildings or commercial development, and that's the way residents of the rural retreat intend to keep it.

Called "the last 'Ozzie and Harriet' area on the Westside," Santa Monica's Sunset Park is a place where retirees live next to young families and neighbors gather at block parties, the parks or the shops along Ocean Park Boulevard. On weekends, people can be seen meeting and chatting as they walk along shady sidewalks, enjoying the ocean breezes.