Character on a Budget in Atwater Village : Near downtown L.A., homeowners feel safe strolling to shops and restaurants.

By MARILYN OLIVER

Aug. 27, 1989 12 AM PT

When Phil and Marie Meltzer began house hunting in 1987, they wanted an affordable neighborhood close to downtown Los Angeles.

Phil, a self-employed recruiter for data processing and software companies, and Marie, a fine arts saleswoman, missed the urban ambiance of Chicago, their former home. They wanted a house that was close-in and near freeways.

Above all, they wanted a house with character that would fit their modest budget.

Their search led them to Atwater Village, an older, blue-collar community that some realtors call “the poor man’s Los Feliz,” where for $120,000 they bought a two-bedroom 1920s Spanish-style house with cathedral ceilings, hardwood floors, red tile roof and large garden.

They like the ethnic diversity of the area, and that they can walk to nearby stores and restaurants. “I try to recruit everyone I meet to the neighborhood,” Marie Meltzer said. “Three of our friends have bought houses here.”

It’s a Sleeper

“Atwater Village is a sleeper,” said Joe Wilson, an associate broker at Fred Sands Los Feliz. “It’s (one of) the last affordable districts that is close in. Because it’s surrounded by Los Feliz, Silver Lake and Glendale, Atwater is an area that should continue to go up.”

Tree-lined streets, steepled churches and specialty businesses along Glendale and Los Feliz boulevards, the area’s major arteries, give a first impression of small-town ambiance.

But as you explore more deeply, you may also see mom-and-pop ethnic markets, pushcart vendors selling fresh-fruit Popsicles and an occasional graffiti-spattered wall. A carefully painted home with manicured garden may face an unkempt house or small apartment with cars parked on the front lawn.

Clearly, Atwater Village is a neighborhood in flux.

“We felt like pioneers when we moved here,” Jenny Smith-Moore, a children’s book illustrator and artist, said.

House Was a Mess

“Two years ago, when we bought the house, it was a total mess,” said her husband, David, a fine-art photographer and instructor at The Otis Art Institute of Parsons School of Design.

“The house was dirty inside, and the yard needed to be cleaned up. There were chicken coops and weeds everywhere. The neighborhood didn’t bother me too much because I had lived downtown in a loft before we were married. I like the ethnic diversity.”

The Moores bought their two-bedroom English cottage for $119,000 in a probate sale. They stripped wallpaper from the walls and varnish from the moldings, had the oak floors pickled, and tore out linoleum from the bathroom to reveal the original mosaic tile in good condition.

In the kitchen they removed several layers of linoleum and painted the pine sub-flooring white to remind them of flooring in the loft.

Scrimping and Saving

“When we bought our house in 1986, we felt a little at risk,” said Steven Peterman, a writer-producer for television’s “Murphy Brown.”

“We had been scrimping and saving for a house. We didn’t have family who could give us a down payment, so we had to look for a place we could buy by ourselves. Atwater was one of a limited group of choices. It’s gotten to be more chic, with young couples moving in and nice shops and restaurants opening. . . . “

“I’m happy with the diversity of the neighborhood,” said Siri Ludwig, a physician and associate professor at USC Medical School. Ludwig and her husband, Eric, a graduate student, allow their three children to play out front. They feel safe walking to shops and the library on Glendale Boulevard.

A spokesman for the Los Angeles Police Department’s Northeast Division said Atwater has a relatively low crime rate. Residents do worry about several local gangs, and many band together to paint out graffiti.

Worry About Crime

Virginia Scott, whose family moved to Atwater in 1922 when she was a baby, remembers a time when children could safely play outdoors at night.

“I worry about graffiti, crime, bars on the window and vandalism, but the neighborhood hasn’t changed to a point where I’d want to move,” she said.

Unlike many Los Angeles neighborhoods, Atwater Village has clear boundaries--Fletcher Drive on the south, the Los Angeles city line on the north, the Los Angeles River on the west and Glendale to the east.

According to brokers, the area between Los Feliz and Glendale boulevards is considered the most desirable because there are fewer apartments. Houses--English cottages, Spanish-style residences with tile roofs and craftsman bungalows--are listed from $199,000 to over $300,000.

Prices Vary Widely

Between Fletcher Drive and Glendale Boulevard, small apartment buildings with two to eight units are found next to single-family houses or lots with two houses. House prices here range from $185,000 to $195,000.

The area north of Los Feliz is the most diverse. Homes near the river that permit horses can run as high as $450,000. Closer to Chevy Chase, houses can be purchased for under $200,000. Properties near the industrial section of North Atwater are considered less desirable, as are those close to Fletcher Drive and the train tracks.

Originally the district was part of Rancho Santa Eulalia, which extended from the Los Angeles River to south Glendale. The ranch was divided by the construction of the Southern Pacific railroad in the late 1800s. The area north of the tracks became known as Tropico, a community annexed to the city of Glendale in 1918.

In 1912, developers began subdividing the area west of the tracks. The district was named Atwater to honor Harriet Atwater Paramore, a pioneer resident.

The Neighborhood Watchdog

Ed Waite, president of the Atwater Village Homeowners’ Assn., moved to the area in 1955 because he liked the central location and village atmosphere. Considered by many as the neighborhood watchdog, he has fought to keep undesirable businesses such as wrecking yards off Glendale Boulevard and he has been instrumental in down-zoning most of the area to R-1 (single-family residential).

Waite, who lives in a miniature castle he describes as Aztec in design, heads an association of close to 400 residents that meets several times a year at Glenfeliz Elementary School auditorium.

“We would like to keep the area a pleasant place to live so it will attract new residents with pride in their neighborhood,” he said.

Waite is concerned about the fate of the Franciscan Pottery plant on Los Feliz. The site has been purchased for a shopping center, and the owner is proceeding with a costly cleanup of industrial waste. The Los Angeles Unified School District is also looking at the site for possible construction of a new high school.

Future of the Boulevard

Residents and business owners also worry about the future of Glendale Boulevard.

“What goes in at the site of Beach’s Market will determine the destiny of Glendale Boulevard,” Waite said. An Atwater landmark, Beach’s, was razed recently.

“We have a concern that the business area develop the village ambiance,” said Chris Hershey, owner of a design studio and president of the Boulevard Business Assn. Several years ago the association, along with the homeowners’ group, lobbied to change the district’s name to Atwater Village.

“Glendale Boulevard is attracting design people and fine artists. There are two photographers and three design businesses here. We would like to see the neighborhood develop in that direction,” Hershey said.

Residents were ecstatic when an upscale eatery, Osteria Nonni, opened earlier this year on Glendale Boulevard. Designed by the architect Angeli on Melrose Avenue, the restaurant, which features pigtailed waiters, high-tech decor and designer pizzas, has drawn capacity crowds.

New Library

A new library and several antique shops have joined older boulevard businesses such as the Rolling Pin Bakery where locals gather to munch strudel and sip coffee, the Pueblo Gift Shoppe and Glenhurst Pharmacy.

New residents are hopeful that the neighborhood will continue to improve.

“Meetings of the homeowners association are really uplifting,” Smith-Moore said. “When I see an overflow crowd, I know there is concern for the community.”

AT A GLANCEPopulation

1989 estimate: 15,253

1980-89 change: +12.8%

Median age: 34.2 years

Racial/ethnic mix

Latino: 56.6%

White (non-Latino): 28.3%

Black: 0.8%

Other: 14.3%

Annual income

Per capita: $11,153

Median household: $26,158