The Tustin House, a Craftsman bungalow on Sycamore Terrace
BOUNDARIES: Marmion Way, N. Ave. 50, Griffin Ave., E. Ave. 43
DISTANCE: 2.5 miles
DIFFICULTY: Easy
PARKING: Near Marmion Way and Museum Dr.
NEAREST METRO STATION: Southwest Museum (Gold Line)
This large neighborhood of about 60,000 people on LA’s northeast side has a long history. Located along a seasonal stream called the Arroyo Seco (“Dry River”), in a valley hugged by spring-fed rolling hills, Highland Park has always attracted residents, from its earliest native settlers, the Chumash, to later ones, who started America’s Arts and Crafts movement here. The neighborhood is served by three rail stations, along with infrastructure that helped push the city’s car-culture stereotype. CA 110, also known as the Arroyo Seco Parkway, was the first highway for automobiles in the country. Despite that, there are plenty of places that two feet will take you—as this walk will.
Begin at the Gold Line’s Southwest Museum station, pragmatically named for the
Historic Southwest Museum, around the corner at 234 Museum Drive. If you’re walking on a Saturday, stop by now or at the end of the walk if it’s during visitor hours (10 a.m.–4 p.m.; free admission). A satellite of The Autry Museum of the American West in Griffith Park, this museum was founded by Charles Lummis in 1907 as the Southwest Museum of the American Indian (more on the eccentric Lummis later). As the name indicates, it’s dedicated to American Indian objects—so much so that it’s the second-largest collection in the country and widely revered.
Head south out of the Metro station to Woodside Drive and turn left onto the upper (left) sidewalk at Figueroa Street. This sidewalk takes you above Figueroa and offers your first glimpse of Highland Park’s historic architecture. This is the Arts and Crafts District, and you witness it immediately with the first house on the corner at 4601 N. Figueroa. This Queen Anne–American Craftsman hybrid is the Ziegler Estate, bought by a former director of the Historic Southwest Museum to be added to the museum’s complex. Although its character is intact today, it is now a day care facility.
Next door, at 4605 N. Figueroa St., is Casa de Adobe, which is still owned by the Historic Southwest Museum (but closed to the public). The house looks like a Spanish California hacienda from the early 1800s, but it was actually purpose-built in 1917 as a museum to depict life under Spanish colonial rule. Before brick became a dominant building material (though no longer, due to earthquake regulations), adobe (mud brick) was a staple building material across the American Southwest.
Exhibits at the Historic Southwest Museum
Continue down the sidewalk, noting several bungalows, a quaint apartment building, and a couple of Craftsman homes at 4665 and 4671 Figueroa.
Continue on the sidewalk until it spits you back onto Figueroa, and go left. At the corner of Sycamore Terrace is the Hiner House, at 4757 Figueroa St. Edward Hiner hailed from Kansas and founded the music department at the school that eventually became UCLA. A friend of John Philip Sousa’s (of “The Stars and Stripes Forever” fame), Hiner named his music studio, a building next to his mixed chalet/Tudor-style home, Sousa Nook. Sousa himself stayed there when he visited Hiner.
Take a left on Sycamore Terrace, being careful as you walk up this short, sidewalk-less section of the narrow street as it curves and inclines.
A view from the museum
As Sycamore straightens, you find yourself in the heart of the Arts and Crafts District: Professor’s Row, named for the 15 years when Occidental College was nearby and its teachers resided here. The quaint Craftsman character remains throughout this block; several of the homes have been designated as Historic-Cultural Monuments by the city, including the Arroyo Stone House, at 4939 Sycamore Terrace. As the name indicates, the stones used to build this house (and many of the walls of the raised lawns at neighboring houses) were brought up from the Arroyo Seco.
When you come to North Avenue 50, turn right; then cross and turn right on Figueroa. You’ll soon come upon two buildings owned by the Pillar of Fire Church, a Christian denomination with a half-dozen congregations around the country. (The organization’s name comes from the Book of Exodus.)
Cross Avenue 49 into 
Sycamore Grove Park. Before it became a city park named after the native trees that shaded it, the grove in the late 1800s was known for rowdy picnicking fueled by alcohol. Today, it is a quiet, placid park with barbecue pits, a children’s play area, picnic tables, tennis courts, and the Sousa-Hiner Bandshell, which sits in view of the aforementioned Hiner House across the street.
Behind the band shell, a path and a short tunnel lead to a pedestrian bridge across CA 110. When crossing above this busy artery, you’ll notice that it looks different from most freeways. Its narrow lanes and the short, 90-degree on- and off-ramps can beget a nerve-wracking experience for drivers. The Arroyo Seco Parkway, as it is known, is the oldest freeway in the nation. It is also part of the official Route 66 alignment. As you finish crossing the freeway, you’ll be above the 2-mile Arroyo Seco bike path.
The bridge will bring you to South Avenue 52. Turn right to follow the path leading away from the sidewalk and toward the bike path. Alternatively, this is the first of two opportunities for an optional detour. An entrance to the rolling hills of 
Ernest E. Debs Regional Park lies 0.1 mile straight ahead and on your left. A short distance up the driveway, you’ll find the 
Audubon Center at Debs Park, where you can pick up a birding checklist and hiking-trail map.
Continue west on the shady Arroyo Seco Bike Path until you come to the parking lot of the Montecito Heights Recreation Center. This recreation facility is home to a senior center, a baseball diamond, and basketball courts, among other activity areas.
Walk through the parking lot to its south end, and turn right on Homer Street.
You’re now in the small Montecito Heights neighborhood. The street is quaint, with a number of small Craftsman-inspired homes.
When you hit East Avenue 43, safely cross the street and arrive at your second choice of a side trip. For this optional detour, continue down Homer 0.3 mile to visit the 
Heritage Square Museum, a large, very cool outdoor museum where historic homes have been moved for preservation. Otherwise, take a right on East Avenue 43 to continue with this route.
Hiner House, 4757 Figueroa St.
After crossing CA 110 again, take a left on Carlota Boulevard to enter the grounds for the 
Charles Lummis Home and Gardens. Built of river rock and reminiscent of a fairy-tale cottage, this Craftsman beauty was the home of Charles Lummis, an eccentric Renaissance man who founded the Southwest Museum of the American Indian, walked across the country, fought for Indian rights, and so much more. You can explore this fascinating landmark, usually open on weekends, on a free self-guided tour. When finished, head back the way you came to East Avenue 43, and take a left.
Arrive at Figueroa and go right two blocks, past numerous small businesses, until you reach West Avenue 45.
Take a left on West Avenue 45 and safely walk across the Metro Gold Line tracks, where you’ll hit Marmion Way.
Go right on Marmion Way, and in less than 0.2 mile you’ll be back at the Gold Line Station. If you haven’t already, check out the Historic Southwest Museum around the corner.
Entrance to the Historic Southwest Museum
Historic Highland Park
Points of Interest
Historic Southwest Museum 234 Museum Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90065; 323-495-4252, theautry.org/visit/mt-washington-campus
Sycamore Grove Park 4702 N. Figueroa St., Los Angeles, CA 90065
Ernest E. Debs Regional Park 4235 Monterey Road, Los Angeles, CA 90032
Audubon Center at Debs Park 4700 N. Griffin Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90031; 323-221-2255, debspark.audubon.org
Heritage Square Museum 3800 Homer St., Los Angeles, CA 90031; 323-225-2700, heritagesquare.org
Charles Lummis Home and Gardens 200 E. Ave. 43, Los Angeles, CA 90031; 323-661-9465, laparks.org/historic/lummis-home-and-gardens
