Rodeo Drive Is Ready for Its Close-Up
In recent weeks, Rodeo Drive has been looking rather down and out in Beverly Hills.
The bare-earth medians have been wrapped with sheets of plastic. Shoppers in their finest high heels have had to look twice as they stride down the sidewalks under construction. Traffic has been difficult.
But all that is about to change. The famous shopping street will be taking off the wraps to reveal a new look in time for the holiday shopping season.
“It’s going to be a beautiful street,” said retailer Fred Hayman, whose Giorgio boutique (later renamed Fred Hayman Beverly Hills) helped define the neighborhood as an upscale shopping destination before closing in the late 1990s.
Last August, the city of Beverly Hills launched an $18 million urban design project geared to spiff up the Golden Triangle, the shopping area bounded by Canon Drive, Wilshire Boulevard and Little Santa Monica Boulevard.
Phase one began in the 300 and 400 blocks of Rodeo and Beverly drives. On Rodeo Drive, the city widened the sidewalks from 12 feet to 18.5 feet, added small parking areas and planted bushy date palms in the medians, which were widened from nearly 4 feet to 8 feet. King palms planted on either side of the street are illuminated at night to accent their towering forms.
On Beverly Drive, the makeover—including new streetlights and trees—has been less drastic.
“It’s been at least 20 or 30 years since we’ve had a change,” said Dow Thanombhand, general manager of Battaglia, the oldest men’s store on Rodeo Drive.
Construction workers have been working from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. to mitigate any effects of the construction on shopping traffic. Everything appeared to be just about finished a few days before the big shopping season.
“Construction is always difficult,” said David Lightner, deputy city manager of Beverly Hills. “A big part of the reason we did the work at night was to stay as much out of the way of business as possible.”
In January, the city will begin phase two of its urban design project, which includes the 200 blocks of Rodeo and Beverly drives and the rest of the Golden Triangle. The city still has not set a date to finish the second phase. —Deborah Belgum
