"A Victim of Its Own Success"

"Now, a dozen or more chains—including Lucky Brand, Gant, Flannel and Alexis Bittar—populate the street. They're not the Gap or H&M, admittedly, but neither are they mom-and-pop operations.
"'It's gotten really fashionable, not always in a good way,' said Pierre Auroux, a Venice resident who was leaving an Abbot Kinney lunch spot on his bicycle one recent sunny afternoon. In years past, he added, "it was less Beverly Hills and more of a beach vibe. It wasn't as safe and nice, but that's what gave it character.'"

Martha Groves in the Los Angeles Times explores the transformation of Abbot Kinney Boulevard.