Windsor Square: Mayberry with mansions

Often confused with Hancock Park to the west, the older, less-known Windsor Square has stately mansions as big as 10,000 square feet, manicured lawns and leafy tree-lined streets. The area, between Hollywood and Koreatown, was developed in 1910 to resemble the English countryside. Drawing card

About five miles from downtown Los Angeles, Windsor Square is an island in an otherwise urban corridor. It’s near Dodger Stadium, Staples Center and the Music Center, and even closer to the Hollywood Bowl and the Greek Theater. People who discover the area by accident are pleasantly surprised by the neighborhood’s Mayberry-esque Larchmont Boulevard, where locals run errands while bumping into friends and neighbors at the barber shop, the hardware store or any of the many sidewalk cafes.

Wow factor

Besides the beauty of the varied architecture -- English Brick Tudor, Mediterranean, Colonial, Craftsman and Spanish -- the wide streets are lined with a mix of mature trees including California sycamores, Canary Island date palms, deodar cedars, magnolias and the dramatic Mexican fan palm that soars to more than 90 feet.

Insider’s view

Those who buy in Windsor Square typically stay put, some families for two or three generations. And with restaurants along nearby La Brea Avenue and Beverly Boulevard and The Grove now nearby, Windsor Square residents may never have to travel to the Westside again.

Good news, bad news

More young families are taking up residence in the area, but demand has pushed the price of homes up to nearly on par with the Westside.

Hot spots

Current demand is for homes north of 3rd Street and south of Beverly and near 1st Street, the so-called “pedestrian freeway,” according to Janet Loveland, a longtime resident and real estate agent with Coldwell Banker. Here children ride bikes, mothers push strollers and couples walk dogs along meandering 1st Street to Larchmont Boulevard.

Houses are smaller in this pocket, 3,500 to 5,000 square feet, and are priced between $650,000 and $1,850,000.

Report card

While 3rd Street Elementary School consistently does extremely well in standardized testing, most locals use it only as a backup choice, preferring instead to send their children to a mix of private schools, a track most stay on through high school.

On the market

The area has 1,100 single-family residences, and inventory is almost always low. Only 13 houses are on the market, ranging from $715,000 to $5.4 million. While the upper end of the market (over $2 million) has slowed, real estate agents report demand is greatest for homes in the $800,000 to $1.5-million price range.

Historical values

Median price single-family detached resales:

Year Median Price

1990...$572,500

1995...$475,000

2000...$742,500

2001...$705,000

2002...$785,000*

*year to date

Sources: DataQuick Information Services, Coldwell Banker Realty and Greg Fischer, Historical Observer