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Lakewood: An L.A. City

Located on the outskirts of Los Angeles County, Lakewood is part of the vast 'megalopolis' that tourists to the area generally perceive as Los Angeles itself. Vacation rentals in Lakewood, however, are actually located in a separate city bordered by other various L.A. area cities such as Long Beach, Bellflowers, and Hawaiian Gardens.

Lakewood is notable for being the location of the very first Denny's restaurant, which opened in 1953 and it was renamed to be Denny's later in the decade. More recently, the city won the distinction of being named "Sportstown USA" in the 2005 edition of Sports Illustrated magazine, which was choosing one heavily sports-oriented city per state. Lakewood was California's winning city for the honor.

Lakewood is also remarkable for being an 'instant city'. It was part of the craze, also including the more famous Levittown in New York, which involved rapid construction of the suburbs in the wake of World War II. Much of the housing stock dates from this time and consists of single story dwellings that were mass-produced in huge blocks that might all be erected nearly at once. Indeed, Lakewood went from being mostly lima bean fields in 1950 to mostly urbanized by 1960.

Today, the city is dominated by a mixture of the typical suburban grid arrangement of streets and winding roads with frequent cul-de-sacs. This gives Lakewood a lovely aspect that has been praised by urban planners.

Lakewood is close to the Pacific Ocean, where vacationers can swim, surf, and sunbathe. In addition, it provides easy access to the museums and amusement parks that dominate Los Angeles and Orange Counties.