Niles District
Click on any Image to Enlarge
Niles more than any other of the original districts has retained its old country town look. The lively downtown strip of late 19th and early 20th-century false-fronted commercial establishments includes several brick buildings. American flags fly from some of the buildings. An old Pullman train car and older vehicles parked along the street reinforce the feeling of yesteryear in this district. The linear town plan is dictated by railroad tracks which are still in use. Niles Boulevard, following the railroad, is flanked by an allee of trees (and the track) on the east and by the commercial strip on the west. A street grid of small older (1950s-1960s) homes with added carports extends from this artery. Aligned with the railroad to the east is Mission Boulevard which forms the eastern boundary for development in most of the district. The old 19th-century Niles train station has been moved across the tracks to face Mission Blvd. It has been turned into a museum. The district has a cohesive, isolated, intimate, quiet, country feel.
Beyond Mission Blvd. to the east rise steep, grassy hills (also belonging to Niles) which are cleaved by the beautiful Niles Canyon Road (Highway 84). Inscribed in white block letters on one of these hills towering over the town center is the name NILES. E.B.R.P.D. land bank is also located in the hills.
Situated in the southwest corner of Niles is a portion of the Flood Control Channel and Quarry Lakes. See section on Centerville district for a description of these features.