Harvard Heights is located in Mid City and is part of the West Adams district. Within it lies a municipally designated historic overlay zone designed to protect its architecturally significant single-family residences, including the only remaining Greene and Greene house in Los Angeles.

Since 2000, the City of Los Angeles Planning Department and Office of Historic Resources has defined the Harvard Heights HPOZ (Historic Preservation Overlay Zone) as encompassing 34 blocks composed predominantly of single-family residences, some multiple-family residences, as well as commercial properties.

Harvard Heights designated historic zone lies between Pico Boulevard on the north, Santa Monica Freeway to the south, Normandie Avenue on the east and Western Avenue on the west. This HPOZ includes both the neighborhood of Harvard Heights to the north of Washington Boulevard and the neighborhood of West Adams Heights/Sugar Hill to the south of Washington Boulevard.

Harvard Heights has been called a "preservationist's dream come true," a neighborhood characterized by the Craftsman houses built on the heights southwest of downtown, primarily between 1902 and 1910.

Exquisite woodwork, high ceilings, formal dining rooms, cozy inglenooks and stained-glass windows are some of the features that attract residents to these spacious two-story homes. For those who work downtown, the area's proximity to the city and the Santa Monica Freeway make it an easy commute.