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 Las Olas Boulevard: The New Wave of the World's Great
Streets
Boulevard St. Germain in Paris, New York's Fifth Avenue, Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills...
Every great city has a particular place where the chic shop, fashion trends are set, strolling window shoppers
chat in a dozen languages, and visitors young and old gather to please their palates, to be entertained and delighted.
So, make way for the latest place to be, the newest of the "great streets" -- Las Olas Boulevard in Fort
Lauderdale. Appropriately named (Las Olas means "the waves" in Spanish), this city's most charming street
is suddenly at the forefront of everything from fashion boutiques and art galleries to world-class cuisine, sidewalk
cafes and jazz houses.
Like many American neighborhoods undergoing a renaissance, Las Olas is not actually new; the elegant 110-room Riverside
Hotel, a destination landmark, has been entertaining Broward County's movers and shakers since 1936 and Fort Lauderdale's
old money still gathers there to be pampered with gracious hospitality. The hotel recently transformed its restaurants,
to include an outdoor dining area and three new restaurants, Indigo, an Indonesian dining experience, Golden Lyon
and The Grill Room.
Even older, the historic Stranahan House, just steps away from the Riverside Hotel, built in 1901 as a home and
trading post by one of the region's pioneers, dates back to when much of South Florida was still uninhabited swamp.
Here the Seminole trappers came to sell their pelts, spending the night sleeping under the stars on the porch that
surrounds the house before trekking back into the wilds of the Everglades.
Here too, Frank Stranahan planted the seeds of a community that today boasts a population of 1.5 million. The Stranahan
House is now a museum with exhibits and furnishings of the turn-of- the-century.
Running almost parallel to Fort Lauderdale's New River on its way to the Atlantic Ocean, Las Olas is a broad avenue
divided by a wide, landscaped median of flowers and towering shade trees. To the east is Fort Lauderdale's famed
beachfront with its $26-million promenade. Las Olas' western most point is anchored by the Museum of Art and gateway
to a downtown area of cultural activity known as the Riverwalk Arts and Entertainment District featuring Las Olas
Riverfront, the Museum of Discovery & Science/Blockbuster IMAX 3D Theater and the Broward Center for the Performing
Arts.
Along the way toward the ocean, one encounters the picturesque "finger islands," snug, block- long residential
communities that harbor luxury homes and yachts. The visitor in the know will also find a selection of intimate,
50-room or less, owner-operated hotels --like the ten-room Banyan Marina on the Isle of Venice -- that belong to
the destination's Superior Small Lodging program that offers, under the banner "guaranteed quality and personalized
service," accommodations in distinctive settings.
On the main, Las Olas Boulevard presents the elegance of the area's glamorous origins; the architecture of its
shops, restaurants and cafes are a rich reflection of South Florida's Spanish heritage. Horse-drawn carriages still
transport sightseers and shoppers from one end of the boulevard to the other. But don't be fooled by Las Olas'
historic charm; this center of entertainment, dining and shopping for Greater Fort Lauderdale is also on the cutting
edge.
From morning `til far past moonlight, young people, old people, visitors from the capitals of Europe as well as
the small towns of America gather here to enjoy the sidewalk cafes and restaurants of Las Olas.
Given its weather, one might assume that dining and entertainment al fresco has been a fixture in South Florida.
In fact, it has only been recently that locals and visitors in Fort Lauderdale have adopted a lifestyle that Europeans
have thrived on for generations. O'Hara's Pub, with its nightly jazz entertainment, and Sidewalk Café began
the trend on Las Olas. Shortly after, others followed suit, like Mangos which offers a perfect viewing spot to
watch the parade of shoppers, window watchers and boulevard strollers.
Indoors or out, Las Olas Boulevard has a restaurant to treat any taste and a cuisine to please any palate. The
boulevard is the home of Mark's Las Olas, featuring the trendsetting 'Floribbean' cuisine of award-winning South
Florida chef Mark Militello. Contributing to the continental ambiance are Dancing Bear, Jackson’s 450, Le Café
de Paris, Las Olas Café, The Left Bank, La Bonne Crepe Café, and The French Quarter, while Galleria
G'vanni satisfies the appetites of diners yearning for Italian. For those with a yen for Japanese cuisine -- raw
or cooked -- the Japanese Village offers a variety of fine dishes just like Mama-san used to make. Man does not
live by vinegared rice alone, so for a meal with a taste a little closer to home, Cheeburger, Cheeburger offers
that most American of sandwiches along with a selection of traditional accompaniments like fries, onion rings and
milk shakes. Or stop into Café Europa for a refreshing iced cappuccino and dessert.
From classy thrift shops to designer fashions, the shopping scene is another major reason Las Olas has become South
Florida's newest old place to be. While many of the "shops of Las Olas" offer the very latest in men's
and women's fashions, such as Moda Mario for men and Zola Keller for women, the boulevard also offers antique shops
that feature everything from collectibles to investment-quality pieces; art galleries, including the Apropos Art
Gallery, Call of Africa, and Shades of Light Gallery, feature subjects ranging from wildlife to one-of-a-kind lamps
to fine examples of Haitian and African art.
For the more eclectic collector, The Williamson Gallery offers antiques, collectibles and rare art pieces. Specialty
shops featuring china, crystal and fine gifts, jewelry and even rare, heirloom baby and children's clothing can
be found here as well.
For more information on Greater Fort Lauderdale and a free copy of the vacation planner guide, contact the Greater
Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau, 1850 Eller Drive, Suite 303, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33316. Telephone:
800-22-SUNNY, ext. 711 (in the U.S. and Canada). Website is http://www.sunny.org.
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