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| VIGNETTES FROM A VIBRANT CITY CENTER | |||
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In
today's
cities,
entertainment,
shopping
and
window-shopping,
or
the
sheer
pleasure
of
walking
among
beautiful
buildings
and
landscaped
areas,
serve
as
relaxation
to
an
active
population
and
are
part
of
the
visitors'
sightseeing
experience.
The
city
center
epitomizes
this
urban
phenomenon. Day and night, rain or shine, people are flocking in. Reclaimed by Lebanese residents and returnees, downtown Beirut is being rediscovered by Arabs and reemerging to foreigners, be they expatriates, visitors or investors. Is Beirut city center something they were all yearning for? Is the revival due to the vitality of the people? Did the urban planning, the restored architecture and the reconstituted public domain act as a catalyst? |
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Around
60
restaurants,
cafés,
bars
and
clubs
are
already
established
in
the
city
center. Far from being perceived as a potential threat, this critical mass is constantly drawing newcomers into the business. Consequently, other projects are planned in the near future. Their evergrowing clientele is not simply drawn among people working or residing in the city center, or expatriates and tourists on a visit there. The society at large is a café society. Intermingled with these venues are about 90 retail outlets of various kinds: stores selling furniture, decoration items and gifts; hi-fi and electronic equipment, or records and books; fashion boutiques; jewelers'; handcraft and gift shops; art and antiques galleries. They all vie with each other in character, style, quality of design and execution, as well as in the goods and services they offer. In addition to interior rooms, restaurants and cafés often include sidewalk extensions, balconies or roof terraces: on one hand allowing participation in street life; on the other commanding views on either city or archeological sites. |
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