Photos: Neighborhood spotlight | Mar Vista

Mar Vista’s historic downtown has specialty shops, coffee spots and tattoo parlors in buildings that date from 1924 to 1960.

The Bowlero bowling alley.

Lionel Arnoult begins the morning by setting the tables at Atmosphere Cafe.

David Arnson handles the vinyl at Timewarp Records.

A customer leaves Floyd’s barber shop in Mar Vista.

Customers get a morning hair cut at Floyd’s on Venice Boulevard in Mar Vista.

A hardware store in Mar Vista.

Patrick Thomas tattoos the arm of Alejandra Sullivan at the Tattoo Lounge in Mar Vista.

Dillion Hurst walks out of LABrakeless bicycle shop.

Mar Vista features a mix of eclectic shops and venues.

A home in the Mar Vista Tract.

The Mar Vista Tract was designed by architect Gregory Ain. The 52-home development aimed to infuse postwar housing for the new middle class with modern design elements.

All of the 52 homes of the postwar Mar Vista Tract, designed by architect Gregory Ain, still stand. The tract is a flashback to the boom times of the late 1940s.

The Ocean View Farms Community Garden in Mar Vista.

Abbie Adams works on her garden at the Ocean View Farms Community Garden in Mar Vista.

Downtown Mar Vista.

The exterior of Bowlero bowling rink.