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Crowds gather in restaurants and bars. Food trucks line the street. Shoppers check out the medical marijuana and clothing stores. Bicyclists roll up and down the boulevard. Abbot Kinney is Venice's vibrant artery, but it isn't known to be a quiet and peaceful oasis. For that, you need to walk a few blocks East and once there, you'll find a very different Venice.
The walkstreets found along the Boardwalk, canals and in the neighboring Marina Peninsula have their own feel, but nothing are like the ones found tucked between Lincoln and Abbot Kinney. Making up just over a mile in length, the four narrow pathways take you between uniquely designed homes, some with equally stunning gardens and landscapping. Quirky poems by neighborhood children hang from select tree limbs, art dangles in front yards and cats scatter as you approach.
The perambulatory arteries tend to be quiet and serene, day or night and make for a nice stroll after a meal or drink. For those who like to explore all the nooks and crannies of Los Angeles, these thoroughfares resemble the walkstreets of Hollywood Heights -- without the steep staircases, of course.
How these streets became to be can be found in thorny history of development 100 years ago (or maybe not). No matter, they're here to stay for now and the properties along them are some of the more sought after.
To see these walkstreets on a map, check for Nowita Place, Marco Place, Amoroso Place and Crescent Place. Note that all the walkstreets have accompanying alleyways, called courts, that carry the same names.
