Something for everyone

Mention Hamra Street in front of anyone familiar with Lebanon and they will surely have an opinion or story to share about one of Beirut’s most well known and cosmopolitan areas. Referred to as the “Champs Élysées” of the Middle East in the 1960s and early 1970s, this street has played a role in influencing Beirut’s culture and hospitality life and continues to do so today, despite the ups and downs the country, and the street itself, have been through. Hamra back in the day  Once a calm residential area with a few villas and vast lands for planting owned by Beiruti families (such as the Itanis, Chatilas, Bikhazis, Rubiez’s), Hamra Street emerged on Lebanon’s social map with the establishment of Cinema Hamra in the late 1950s, which was followed by a quick succession of other cinemas and theaters such as Eldorado, Strand, Saroulla and Élysée in the 1960s. In