Eagle Rock, buttressed by Glendale to the west and Pasadena to the east, is named after the massive 50-foot-tall boulder that greets those entering from the 134 Freeway. When the sun is positioned just so, both the rock, formerly known as La Piedra Gorda, and its shadow are said to resemble the iconic bird. For locals, it’s a sight that tells them they’re home.

With its “small town within a big city” feel, Eagle Rock has been viewed as much more low-key than its northeast Los Angeles cousins Silver Lake, Los Feliz and Echo Park. “It’s the place where hipsters go to die or raise kids — which some people consider the same thing,” filmmaker and actor Jay Duplass told The Times when describing the quaint and hilly neighborhood, the setting of his 2015 HBO dramedy series “Togetherness.”

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Home to liberal arts school Occidental College (which counts former President Obama as a past student), Eagle Rock has just three major thoroughfares: Eagle Rock, Colorado and York boulevards. But packed within the community are vibrant indie spaces, from used bookshop READ Books to custom sneaker studio Major Wavez Lab to the terrific Ethiopian restaurant Aunt Yvette’s Kitchen. The neighborhood has long drawn in creatives — Ben Affleck, an Oxy alum, lived in a Tudor-style home on Hill Drive with Matt Damon while they co-wrote the script for “Good Will Hunting.”

Although Eagle Rock is considered to be “ethnically diverse” with sizable Asian (23.9%), white (29.8%) and Latino (40.3%) populations, the area is just 1.9% Black, no doubt due in part to neighboring towns like South Pasadena and Glendale having reputations as sundown towns until the late 1990s.

Like with much of L.A., the landscape of Eagle Rock is ever-changing. Pinky, the paper-mache bird that sat atop the infamous “Pillarhenge,” vanished without a trace. (Being built in its place is a mixed-use structure that looks like a boat.) The historic Eagle Theatre was shuttered in 2001 and was replaced by the new Vidiots location, a cultural institution and one of the last standing video rental stores that boasts its own 271-seat theater. And initiatives are underway to make Eagle Rock Boulevard more walkable, including curb extensions, a parking-protected bike lane and landscape medians to prevent unsafe U-turns.

Any great day trip itinerary would balance a tasting tour of the many delicious restaurants with visits to the neighborhood’s singular arts and cultural institutions. So on your next drive down the 134 Freeway, why not follow the big golden bird and explore the neighborhood’s charms? This must be Eagle Rock.