Exploring Lincoln Blvd.
While Abbot Kinney's notoriety has enticed a new wave of high-end retailers to take up residence on the popular strip, it's also encouraged independent store owners to pioneer east for more affordable rent. New shops and restaurants are crawling up Rose Avenue and setting roots along Lincoln Boulevard. It's hard to envision the high-traffic thoroughfare evolving into a popular L.A. walk street. It's Highway 1. But it doesn't have to. Residents to the east and west can easily meet in the middle.
The area is spotty and unpredictable, a high-low mashup of wealth and poverty, just like the locals who line its borders. And this is exactly what gives Lincoln its appeal. It is raw, eclectic, and a little repulsive - the perfect canvas for creativity and experimentation. The new Pearl Drop boutique from Jennifer Nicholson recently opened across from Louisiana Famous Fried Chicken Chinatown Express. And the inaugural Venice Music Crawl on June 22, an endeavor to bring music to the Westside, will kick off at the Venice Love Shack on Lincoln near Venice Blvd.
This stretch between Rose Ave. and Venice Blvd. has been dubbed "The Linc" by some of the local shop owners who are trying to get the name to catch on, and rumors are swirling about who's moving in next.
