Daedalus

N. Curson Avenue runs north off of Hollywood Blvd., flanked by the Wattles community garden to its right and celebrity-owned family homes to its left. After a long city block, it branches out to the right of a Y intersection and continues towards an open field that leads into the heart of nowhere - just bramble bush and low-level foliage below Mulholland Drive.

If you can afford one of the beautiful homes along N. Curson, you will be rewarded with a virtually private quiet and beautiful neighborhood suitable for any family. Because of the sprawling Wattles estate, this street is sheltered from the regular Runyon canyon hiking crowds that typically swarm the neighborhood on weekends.

Although Cheremoya is a beautiful wide street lined with apartments and bungalows, it can become frustrating when the crowds descend on the quaint little row of shops, theaters and restaurants that run east from its base at Franklin Avenue, making parking almost impossible to find.

If you do find parking, however, you will be able to enjoy an otherwise quiet residential street that houses the bulk of the historic Villa Carlotta where Jim Morrison lived for a short while, and across the street from the magnificent Scientology Celebrity Center - a castle-like structure where many very famous Hollywood figures attend meetings and ceremonies.

At the corner of Cheremoya and Franklin one finds the Daily Planet - a small and excellent magazine and book shop, The Bourgeois Pig - a unique coffeehouse with Wi-Fi, pool tables and a very sexy bean bag lounge where one can sip tea with a date, La Poubelle - an excellent Southern French restaurant and a community theater.

If you intend on living on Cheremoya, be sure to secure a parking permit!

Big Oak Drive is a one-block street ending in a tight cul-de-sac that might be missed if not for the gigantic iconic hand at the Big Hand Car Wash half a block from its entrance. Big Oak Drive might be small and seemingly innocuous but it has a thriving little community of its very own - so much so that the local residents have their own neighborhood council that has put up signs reminding and cautioning outsiders that non-residential parking is strongly prohibited and enforced. This is probably to discourage all the valets from local restaurants from using this as what would otherwise be a perfect parking lot.

The backyards the run up along the hillsides provide a nice rural feeling to the area, and the steep sidewalk up to the cul-de-sac makes a solid and pleasant hiking detour.

Franklin Avenue, starting at the top of Sierra Bonita and running east through Beachwood Canyon into the Griffith Park / Los Feliz neighborhoods is for the most part residential - lined by apartment buildings and infrequent corner shops.

It can become very congested between La Brea and Highland Ave. when there are concerts at the Hollywood Bowl, and should be avoided during those times. For this reason, any of those six blocks between La Brea and Highland are not as pretty as the rest of Franklin.

At Highland Ave, Franklin twists and turns a little bit and then continues east into Beachwood Canyon country. There are some very interesting old historic buildings to be seen along this ride. Where Franklin meets Vine, one can see the famous Capitol Records building where everyone from the Beatles to Elvis to Frank Sinatra recorded.

At Western Avenue, Franklin turns into a more affluent neighborhood where huge houses sit atrop sprawling lawns on both sides of the street until it crosses into Los Feliz - one of the most popular communities for musicians, bohemians and artists in Los Angeles.

Depending on your lifestyle and income, there is a neighborhood suitable for you somewhere along this historic and fascinating avenue.

N Beachwood Drive is the street to which you point a passing tourist when they ask where they can see the insanely famous Hollywood sign. Heading north off Franklin Boulevard, this quiet residential street will take you right up to the front door of Hollywoodland Real Estate - the Realtor that thought to put the sign up in the first place as an advertisement for local properties in the early part of the last century. Eventually the "Land" part of the name dropped off and thus the ubiquitous Hollywood icon remained.

Beechwood runs through a community populated by aspiring and even some very well-established actors, young families and filmmakers, artists, chefs and retirees.

There is a school at the intersection where Beachwood meets Franklin, opposite a gas station. Several blocks east, one finds the Scientology Celebrity Center - a castle surrounded by gardens that is not generally open to the public.

Despite the notoriety of the Hollywood sign, traffic is generally minimal. A great family neighborhood perfect for walks and outdoor recreation.

Selma is a short street that runs parallel between Sunset and Hollywood Boulevards ending to the west at the top of Crescent Heights before it leads up into Laurel Canyon country.

Although crossing Fairfax along Selma is a bit difficult due to the lack of a traffic light, it is a quick way through the neighborhood when the larger streets get busy.

The street runs through a gorgeous neighborhood often seen in Hollywood films - lined by a mixture of family homes and smaller, two to three story apartment buildings, it has grown up with the surroundings into a popular and safe area for anyone.

Running parallel and in between Sunset and Santa Monica Boulevards, Fountain in fact constitutes a major artery through Hollywood ending to the west at La Cienega Boulevard, and running east until the freeway.

Fountain is a combination of small homes and retail shops, the latter made up primarily of grocery stores like Ralph's, Von's and towards the east the Arclight Cinema and several strip malls that international cuisine and automotive repair shops.

Although frequently busy with traffic, and thus not the quietest street front for living, Fountain is always a good alternative to Sunset Blvd. on a busy weekend night or the ever-gridlocked Santa Monica Boulevard. It is a colorful and interesting cruise through the heart of the real Hollywood neighborhoods.

As the ever quotable Mae West confided: "When in doubt, take Fountain."

Gardner is part of the lush green community that houses many young actors, writers, directors and producers as well as young families and retirees. Only blocks from the very popular Runyon Canyon - a hotspot for hikers and outdoor enthusiasts, this street gets busy on weekends with parents taking their children for a stroll or young couples walking their dogs. There is a lot of opportunity to meet new people or to bump into old friends.

During the week, the street is relatively quiet, with the only noise pollution coming from Hollywood Blvd. and Sunset Blvds, respectively.

There is very little retail on Gardner itself where it doesn't intersect one of the major Boulevards. There are many apartment buildings in the area, but they are all well-kept and stylish. Rent for a one bedroom in the area typically runs between a thousand and fifteen hundred dollars and usually also includes pool facilities and or secure parking.

This is a perfect street for those looking to build a new life in Los Angeles and get acquainted with those in the film industry, and the views of the Hollywood Hills can not be beat.

Larchmont runs directly south from Paramount studios on Melrose Avenue. arguably this neighborhood is the result of the money injected into the area by the grand old film studio - a veritable village unto itself - and so it follows that it transcends the regular strip mall or coffee shop vibe and instead gives off the quaint glow of a small town in New England with little hobby shops and independent restaurants that cover the gamut from Japanese and Indian cuisine to the freshly baked Bagels and delicious coffee.

There are frequent street fairs and even farmer's markets to be found in Larchmont Village, all of which has that small-town family feel.

The streets in the area are well maintained, with the Hancock Park and Wilshire corridor nearby - an interesting mix of smaller, older homes that are affordable for bohemians and young couples (nearer to Koreatown) and the large gorgeous mansions that at times give the area a resemblance to Beverly Hills and even Bel Air.

Sierra Bonita is one of those little secrets that only the locals know about; as it heads one block north from Hollywood Blvd to meet Franklin Blvd. where it ends, it is flanked on the left by the beautiful and rare garden co-op knows as Wattles Gardens that sprawl out in front the Wattles Estate, a beautiful quiet park that overlooks the city. On the right are family homes, each with its own distinct flair, with lots of trees and exotic plants.

All this is only a couple of blocks north of the hipster's paradise that is Sunset Blvd. Within a stone''s throw is Abbot's Habit - a little coffee shop where Quentin Tarantino has been known to stop by to read over his latest screenplay, TOI - the rock'n'roll Thai restaurant open until 4am and Rainforest Pizza that features Lebanese food in addition to its pizza menu and a hookah bar in the back patio.

To the Northeast of Sierra Bonita is the ever-popular Runyon Canyon where dozens if not hundreds of people a day go for a very famous view of loss Angeles on their hike and dog-walking ritual.

I could also mention that there are very lenient parking restrictions on Sierra Bonita, a street that is kept clean and quiet, but then I would be giving away a local secret.

The only caveat is that the traffic on Hollywood itself can get quite heavy, so having a property on the Blvd, itself can be a bit noisy.