Hawaiian Gardens, CA

Hawaiian Gardens is a small city in southeast Los Angeles County, bordered by communities such as Long Beach, Lakewood, and Cypress. Its name comes from a roadside refreshment stand that once had a tropical theme, a bit of local color that stuck even though the city is far from Hawaii. Hawaiian Gardens is compact and urban, with civic life shaped by schools, local businesses, and nearby freeways. Its scale is small, but its location puts it squarely inside the dense Los Angeles metropolitan landscape.