McManus / East Culver City

McManus—often called simply East Culver City—is the tiny residential neighborhood that juts out towards Mid City. It is mostly made up of the same sort of squat pre-War homes that make up most of Lucerne-Higuera, and in fact feels like little more than a minor extension of that neighborhood, except for one quality that it has over its large southern neighborhood—a park. The Syd Kronenthal Park is the dominant feature of the neighborhood. It is not much of a park, but is well-known for being the end of the Ballona Creek bike path that runs along the creek forming the eastern border of Culver City.

Yet another testament to the family nature of this neighborhood is the presence of Echo Horizon school—a tiny, well-regarded private school in the area.

The other aspect of the neighborhood is that its northern border at West Washington Blvd. has several eateries and stores worth mentioning. Among restaurants, the Food Lounge is certainly worth checking out—a great spot for night time dates—as is La Dijonaise Café—for sandwiches and pasteries, and Brunello Tratoria, for Italian. The street also has a few clothing stores and pilates—so it is definitely ready to cater to the influx of new young urban professionals.

Another sign of the changing sensibility in Culver City is the fact that they are planning on making it illegal for Veterinarians in the city to do de-clawings. This animal rights issue would have been one of the last things anyone would have considered here a generation ago when the city was crime ridden. Times are indeed changing around here.