The cultural, political, and amenity-based touchstones of a city aside, a highly noticeable factor in determining the vibe of a place is how it looks. Inglewood shares much of the fascinating mesh of design that permeates Southern California: wildly different histories and styles of building happily lumped on top of each other. From adorable 1920s bungalows to quirky, beautifully preserved mid-century dingbat apartments and homes, Inglewood’s variety of architecture both mirrors L.A.’s and has a style all its own.

1920s theater buildings dot the landscape as do low-slung, Streamline Moderne-style commercial buildings. The bones of these historic downtown locations are being remixed into hip small businesses like boutiques and coffee shops. Styles from Arts and Crafts to Brutalism share city blocks. And many historic homes are kept up beautifully, often being passed from one generation to the next.

Quirky “Googie” architecture, a stalwart of mid-century modernism and born in the Los Angeles region, is perhaps best represented by city-adjacent Pann’s Restaurant on La Tijera. And, of course, anyone who has ever driven the 405 knows they’re in Inglewood by looking up and seeing the giant Randy’s donut, one of the last landmarks from the Programmatic architecture movement of the 1950s.

Now, the city has received a contemporary splash with the addition of the L.A. Philharmonic’s YOLA Center, which brings classic arts to area youth. Best of all for the city’s architectural portfolio, the newly opened building is designed by world-famous “starchitect” Frank Gehry.