Alexa in Westlake Girl // DNAMAG (photo: @dnamag.co)

Westlake, Daly City is the suburbs of San Francisco, but locals will say that it feels like a city within a city. The post World War II suburban sprawl looks like the pastel moodboard for Edward Scissorhands. The neighborhood sits on the borderline of San Francisco and the Pacific Coast Highway. San Francisco natives have adopted Westlake as one of their own. After the historic 1906 earthquake, people of San Francisco had fled the city to migrate to nearby coastal towns, but it wasn't until 1948 that Westlake officially became a postwar suburb. Westlake was the brainchild of well-known San Francisco real estate developer Henry Doelger who wanted not only to construct well-built, affordable tract housing, but his aim was to build a community.

Today it is one of the most coveted Northern California areas to live being that it's walking distance into the city, 5 minutes from the beach and the architecture is one-of-a-kind midcentury blended with postwar classic. Doelger not only built a neighborhood community, but an iconic design landscape that was even featured in a 1950 issue of Life Magazine. There's also a book Little Boxes: The Architecture of a Classic Midcentury Suburb by Rob Keil that documents the history, nostalgia and architectural beauty of Westlake. More than likely on Pinterest, you've scrolled through an image of a bright pink or pastel hue "little box" that is a Westlake house.

@alexawilsonn in Westlake Girl // DNAMAG (photo: @dnamag.co)

The one day that Karl the Fog decided not to show up, Alexa and I strolled all through Westlake for its midcentury backdrops, the ambience and crayon color palettes that this little boxed suburb is famous for.