One of the Great Avenues of the World Spotlight:

What Makes an Avenue Great?

The Magnificent Mile® is one of the top ten hospitality, fine dining, and retail districts in world, making it One of The Great Avenues of the World. Each of the Great Avenues has unique features that distinguish it as a premier commercial center, but all provide visitors, workers, and local residents with a world-class urban experience. This experience is the result of seven values: an historic setting, a spectacular streetscape, innovative architecture, distinctive retail, high-quality fine dining, world-class hotels, and premier office space. For example: The Magnificent Mile® is rooted in the 1909 Plan of Chicago, Daniel Burnham’s historic vision for a great metropolis, and features spectacular gardens along a tree-lined boulevard with some of the world’s most distinctive buildings, both old and new. The retail, dining, and hospitality venues are diverse and exciting and the office space is some of the most highly valued in the world.

But there are contrasts. For example, Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, “Where entertainment meets fashion!” is much smaller, features very high-end retail, but a smaller dining and hospitality component compared to North Michigan Avenue’s 57 hotels and 150 restaurants. Fifth Avenue in New York is much larger, with an even greater diversity of opportunities for visitors. International venues include the Champs Elysees in Paris, another very large venue with strong attributes, including attractions like the Louvre Museum and the Arc de Triomphe. The Bahnhofstrasse in Zurich features exquisite high-end fashion apparel and accessories stores, as does Bond Street in London.

Several of the “Great Avenues of the World” have special affiliations with The Greater North Michigan Avenue Association (GNMAA). For example, representatives of the business development group for Orchard Road in Singapore recently visited The Magnificent Mile to see how American business partners with government to sustain a world-class business environment. The executive directors of the Rodeo Drive Committee and the Beverly Hills Chamber of Commerce are former Illinoisans and keep in touch on issues of mutual concern. Camille Julmy, vice-chairman of US Equities, a member of the GNMAA executive committee, and a former GNMAA chairman of the board, created “The Great Avenues of the World” after traveling to various internationally known shopping and hospitality centers and observing what makes a shopping and hospitality district truly great. He observed that it is the “total experience” a visitor has while walking down the street, seeing the gardens, the signage, the architecture, and meeting the people in the stores, restaurants, and hotels. According to Mr. Julmy, “There are only ten that leave you with a sense of greatness; a sense that this avenue represents the best of mankind’s achievements in the areas of architecture, city planning, shopping, fine dining, and hospitality.” Other Great Avenues include the Ginza District in Tokyo, Nanjing Road in Shanghai, and Bloor Street in Toronto, all peers of The Magnificent Mile® and “top of the list” places to visit!

Photo Courtesy of Fig Media, Inc.