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10 Central Culver City

Helms Bakery made the official bread of the 1932 Olympics.

Boundaries: Venice Blvd., La Cienega Blvd., Baldwin Hills, Overland Ave.

DISTANCE: 3.5 miles

DIFFICULTY: Moderate

PARKING: Metered parking is available on Washington Blvd.

NEAREST METRO STATION: Expo Line (Culver City)

Culver City flew under the radar for a long time, playing the role of a fairly quiet residen­tial suburb with a perfectly serviceable downtown district and a handful of decent restaurants. But how things have changed: downtown Culver City is now a thriving dining destination, and the excellent selection of eateries has spilled over into the historic Art Deco buildings of the old Helms Bakery complex. This walk takes in Culver City’s hippest corridors, as well as one of the city’s finest parks, which offers breathtaking views of the LA Basin on a clear day.

Walk Description

Start on Helms Avenue north of Washington Boulevard. This section of the street has been turned into a pedestrian-only plaza as part of the revitalization of the Helms Bakery District, a collection of great restaurants and upscale furniture stores housed in the 1930s-era Art Deco warehouse buildings of what used to be Helms Bakery. The large neon sign atop the structure has been restored and is now a famous local landmark, shining bright and colorful at night as it flashes the words HELMS OLYMPIC BREAD.

Turn right on Washington Boulevard. As you approach National Boulevard, you’ll pass Surfas Culinary District, which stocks all manner of specialty and hard-to-find cooking supplies and ingredients and offers free cooking demos in the on-site test kitchen. In short, it’s a foodie’s dream come true. There’s even an on-site café where you can grab a quick and tasty lunch or sweet, buttery pastry. And if you look across the street to the left, you’ll notice an interesting mural of a girl in a colorful dress standing in front of a black-and-white creature holding flowers. Titled The Guardian, this artwork was a collaboration between street artists Bumblebee and Zio Ziegler.

Continue across National Boulevard, passing the Culver City Metro Expo Line station on your right. As you continue to head southwest on Washington, you’ll pass a new creative office development on the left, its parking structure adorned with another colorful mural.

If you haven’t already crossed to the other side of Washington Boulevard, do so at the intersection of Higuera Street. The Rapt Studio building on the corner features yet another colorful, eye-catching mural on the Higuera side of the building, this one by artist Jason Woodside.

Cross Higuera Street to continue on Washington, passing the white Art Deco buildings of Sony Pictures Animation on your left.

After crossing Ince Boulevard, keep straight. You’ll pass The Culver Studios; the building facade resembles a grand Colonial mansion and will be instantly recognizable to film buffs from the opening credits of Gone with the Wind. Built by Thomas H. Ince in 1919, it has also been home to RKO, DeMille, and Desilu studios and continues to be a popular filming location today.

Continue straight ahead through the pedestrian plaza that is home to the ArcLight Cinemas, several restaurants, and The Culver Hotel. Another historic landmark, this establishment opened as the Hotel Hunt in 1924 to accommodate the many actors who filmed at The Culver Studios across the street. In fact, the Munchkins from The Wizard of Oz had such a good time here that they held a reunion of the surviving cast members at the hotel in 1997. The plaza also features a charming dancing lion statue and splash pad, popular with kids during the warm months.

After passing through the plaza, turn right to cross Culver Boulevard at Cardiff Avenue. After crossing, turn left, crossing Cardiff to head southwest on Culver Boulevard. This is the heart of the downtown Culver City dining district, and you’ll pass several restaurants—all quite good—in quick succession, including Tender Greens, Honey’s Kettle, and Akasha.

At Watseka Avenue, cross the street at the crosswalk on your left, and then continue across the second crosswalk to end up on the pleasant, jacaranda-shaded island between Washington and Culver Boulevards. Continue straight ahead, passing even more restaurants, as well as the Kirk Douglas Theatre. You’ll see the massive Sony Pictures Studios complex directly ahead.

Turn left on Duquesne Avenue; City Hall is on the southeast corner. Take a quick detour through the courtyard to admire the brick fountains, and then continue southeast on Duquesne, passing the police station and a couple of blocks of mostly older houses and apartment buildings. Baldwin Hills lies straight ahead; you may see hikers and stair climbers along the left side of the ridge (see next walk).

After a couple of blocks, you will come to the pedestrian and bicycle entrance to the Ballona Creek bike path, which leads all the way to the beach. A useful map of the area stands near the gate, and on the wall alongside the entrance ramp is a community mural composed of colorful tiles, paintings, and mosaics that is well worth checking out. And you can’t miss the giant metal sculpture of an urn on the other side of the waterway. Continue on Duquesne Avenue, crossing Jefferson Boulevard.

Continue walking on the sidewalk up the hill past the entrance to Culver City Park. To the right you’ll see a creatively designed playground with lots of great climbing elements for kids, as well as a skate park.

When you see a parking lot on the other side of the street, cross at the crosswalk and then cut through the lot to the base of the zigzagging wooden ramp; follow the ramp uphill. This is the Culver City Park Interpretive Nature Trail, which gives way to a dirt path and passes a ropes challenge course before the wooden ramp resumes. As you continue your climb, take a moment to enjoy the view of Culver City below and see if you can spot the giant rainbow sculpture on the Sony Pictures lot.

More stellar vistas await once you reach the park at the top of the ramp, encompassing everything from the Pacific Ocean to downtown LA. Homage to Ballona Creek, an impressive sundial sculpture by artist Lucy Blake-Elahi, also graces the bluff.

Turn right from the top of the ramp to walk around the perimeter of the baseball field. Just after passing the restrooms, look for a set of four flights of stairs on your right, and descend. A couple of wells for the nearby Inglewood Oil Field pump away on the hill directly ahead.

Turn right at the bottom of the stairs to head downhill, passing a dog park on your left.

The Culver Studios

Turn right again at the stop sign to get back onto Duquesne, crossing at the crosswalk to return to the sidewalk. Retrace your steps back down the hill, once again crossing Jefferson Boulevard.

Turn right on Lucerne after crossing Ballona Creek; you’ll follow this quiet residential street for several blocks.

Turn left on Higuera Street, which is lined with exceptionally cute and well-maintained homes. At the corner of Poinsettia Court, you’ll notice Jerry’s Market, your quintessential neighborhood bodega. After passing the Citydog! Club boarding and doggy day care facility on your right, you’ll spot the Rapt Studio mural from earlier in the walk.

Turn right on Washington Boulevard to retrace your steps back toward the Helms Bakery District.

Return to the starting point of your walk, at the corner of Helms Avenue and Washington Boulevard.

Central Culver City

Points of Interest

Surfas Culinary District 8777 Washington Blvd., Culver City, CA 90232; 310-559-4770, surfasonline.com

The Culver Studios 9336 Washington Blvd., Culver City, CA 90232; 310-202-1234, theculverstudios.com

The Culver Hotel 9400 Culver Blvd., Culver City, CA 90232; 310-558-9400, culverhotel.com

Tender Greens 9523 Culver Blvd., Culver City, CA 90232; 310-842-8300, tinyurl.com/tendergreenscc