Los Altos

This is a small cohesive family oriented community located on the East side of Long Beach, a quiet residential neighborhood.  Los Altos was originally developed in 1946 by Lloyd S. Whaley at the end of World War II to provide housing to returning military personnel after the war.

“We love Los Altos”, my wife and I purchased our first home and moved here in 1983, at that time we were the ‘new kids’ on the block and continue to live in Los Altos ever since.  I recall how we used to frequent “Bob’s Big Boy” located at the corner of Bellflower and Spring and to this day remember ordering our favorite dessert, a “Hot Fudge Chocolate Cake”. I miss the early days and all our old neighbors.

Much has change since in Los Altos, the area is now mostly populated by younger families, lots of kids (the cycle continues!) running around the clever maze-like street-layout (by design for safety reasons minimizing unwanted through traffic in the area).  Los Altos today has many new shops, it is conveniently located within the city of Long Beach with easy access to the 405 freeway, close to the Long Beach Airport, coastline, beaches, entertainment and not to mention excellent dining.

Bounderies

The area of Los Altos is delineated as follows: Clark Avenue on the West, Studebaker Avenue on the East, Interstate 405 (San Diego Fwy) Willow Street on the North, and CSULB at the South.  For illustration purposes, I included a section of our local Long Beach Realtor Map showing Area 34.

Los Altos Area 34 is confined in this map by the ‘heavier red line‘, and further highlighted within the ‘green area‘ to make it easier to see.

Bordering Areas

On the West, Los Altos borders with Whaley Park and the Traffic Circle area, on the East we meet with El Dorado South, Eastside Long Beach on the North, and lastly the upscale area of Park Estates and CSULB both at the south border.

Shops

Los Altos residents enjoy a vast selection of local merchants in the area, starting with the largest commercial tenant, “The Los Altos Shopping Center”. Residents here can shop at Target department store, Sears department store, Trader Joe’s, Lazy Acres grocery store, Trader Joe’s, LA Fitness, and several other diverse shops and stores.

Schools

The residents in the Los Altos area of Long Beach are supported with some great nationally recognized schools and educators. Here are the names and their respective websites;  Florence Bixby Elementary School, Minnie Gant Elementary School, Stanford Middle School and Robert A. Millikan High School are located in Los Altos. The YMCA Los Altos located on Bellflower Boulevard and the nationally recognized California State University at Long Beach (CSULB) and its beautiful campus also located in Los Altos.

In an upcoming post, I will continue to blog about our local favorite places to eat.  Fortunately for us, we have quite a diverse selection of great dining choices.