A Well-Designed Day in LA’s Highland Park Neighborhood
Marni Epstein-Mervis has been an Angeleno for 11 years now. She and her husband moved to LA’s Highland Park Neighborhood nine months ago after a number of years in neighboring Echo Park. Marni’s an architecture journalist and owner and Principal of STRUKTR Studios, “where we create content and communications for companies in architecture, design, and real estate.” With her love of design, she makes an amazing tour guide of Los Angeles’ “vibrant and historic” Highland Park neighborhood. She shows us some of her favorite places to eat, work and play.
I start my day by taking our corgi, Fitz, for a walk around the neighborhood. Highland Park’s colorful walls and street art always make for fun sights along the way.
Highland Park is such a walkable neighborhood and we live right next to the metro gold line, which I take to work. LA is steadily becoming pedestrian-friendly. It’s a side of LA I’m not sure people often see.
On my way to the metro station I usually stop at Civil Coffee for an espresso and because, well, it’s impossible to not have a thing for this floor.
I hop off the train and walk two blocks to my office for a meeting. STRUKTR recently started coworking at the newly-opened, WeWork space in nearby Pasadena. It’s a Brutalist style building with an interior that’s been completely transformed into a vibrant space, complete with this stunning kitchen area.
After my meeting I head back to Highland Park and Galco’s to grab a deli sandwich and sarsaparilla for a late lunch. It’s a neighborhood institution and I love stocking up on the old-timey and novelty sodas that Galco’s specializes in; it reminds me of being a kid. Not to mention, the store’s owner, John, is a veritable sommelier of sodas—he knows just about everything regarding every soda. Ever.
As a hobby, my husband and I used to refinish Mid-Century furniture, so whenever I have a few minutes I like to duck into Sunbeam Vintage and check out their amazing pieces.
Speaking of my husband, I meet up with him after work for drinks at Highland Park Bowl. The 1927 building, which most recently was a punk rock venue, was originally a prohibition-era bowling alley and bar. A spectacular recent renovation restored the building to its original glory.
After drinks, we walk around the corner and grab dinner at Good Girl Dinette. The pho is great and it’s just a short walk from our house.
Follow Marni online:
- STRUKTR Studios
- STRUKTR on Instagram: @struktrstudios
- STRUKTR on Twitter: @STRUKTRstudios
Our “well-designed day” neighborhood guides are a visual tour of what a great day looks like from the perspective of a local.
You’ve loved the peeks inside gorgeous homes from around the world, so we thought we’d ask house tour stars to share their other homes—the neighborhoods and cities they live in. These are the stylish, colorful, bold and fun spaces that these locals would visit if they were designing a great day of stopping at favorite spots (or lounging around at home!). You can follow on our Instagram as we post images from their well-designed day and read more about this series.