Hamra Street or Rue Hamra (Arabic: شارع الحمراء) is one of the main streets of the city of Beirut, Lebanon, and one of the main economic and diplomatic hubs of Beirut. It is located in the neighborhood of the same name, Hamra. Its technical name is Rue 31. Due to the numerous sidewalk cafes and theatres, Hamra Street was the centre of intellectual activity in Beirut during the 1960s and 1970s.[1] Hamra Street was known as Beirut's Champs Elysées, as it was frequented by tourists all year round. Before 1975, Hamra Street and the surrounding district was known as Beirut's trendiest.
Hamra no longer functions as the cosmopolitan bastion of sectarian Lebanon. The Lebanese Civil War and the ensuing government regulation that enforced rent control on all of the buildings removed the neighborhood's elite, pre-war cachet. In the post-war period it has arguably been eclipsed by Rue Monot in Ashrafieh, Rue Gouraud in Gemmayzeh, Rue Verdun, and downtown area.[2][3] In the mid 1990s, the Municipality of Beirut gave a facelift to the street to reattract tourists all year round.
Today it is a commercial district with universities (such as: American University of Beirut, Lebanese American University, and Haigazian University), hotels, furnished apartments, libraries, restaurants and coffee shops, with "78 Street" (commonly known as "the Alleyway") being Hamra's main pubbing and clubbing hub.
- ^ [1] Archived January 22, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ New York Times
- ^ "Hamra". Ikamalebanon.com. Archived from the original on 2012-02-11. Retrieved 2012-02-11.