Santa Monica Neighborhoods - Midtown Santa Monica

Midtown Santa Monica

Comprising most of the 90404 zip code Midtown Santa Monica stretches from 14th street to Centinela at its westernmost and easternmost extremities, and Wilshire Boulevard to Olympic Boulevard in its north and south. Alternating between major thoroughfares and quieter residential lanes, Midtown is less congested than many other parts of the city. Planned on a regular grid, Midtown Santa Monica was once home to a number of picturesque Craftsman houses and brightly painted Victorians, though only occasional examples of these can still be found. In the early 1940s the first wave of suburbanization overtook this part of the city and many preexisting structures were razed and replaced with tiny square California Bungalows with green lawns and small, private backyards. In the 1960s a large number of these increasingly dilapidated structures were demolished in favor of four and five unit condominium complexes and apartments. The easternmost edge of Midtown Santa Monica, often referred to as the "college streets" where Princeton, Harvard, Yale, Stanford, and Berkeley intersect with Wilshire Boulevard, represents one of the city's primary gateways. Commemorating the spot where the cities of Santa Monica and Los Angeles (Brentwood neighborhood) share a border is the "Wave" a sculpture by Tony De Lap arching over Wilshire Boulevard near Franklin. Home prices range between 750,000 to 1.5 million.