Visitors impose to pose with palms

Beverly Hills streets have seen tourists standing in the road for the perfect shot despite safety concerns

- By Christopher Buchanan

THE TREE-LINED North Hillcrest Road has proved to be a popular photo spot.

The man stood in the middle of the road in decadent Beverly Hills, gawking at one of those only-in-L.A. streetscapes.

He was looking at a row of palm trees in linear formation, like soldiers awaiting inspection, lining the road as far as the eye could see. Alongside the Spanish colonial homes, the scene is a picturesque look into wealth, opulence and superfluity that only a select few Angelenos can afford.

For minutes, the man remained in the street, attempting to snap a selfie and document the view. Then suddenly, a blaring car horn yanked him back to reality without having known, or cared, he stood directly behind a reversing car, in front of a fully occupied home.

Near-accidents like these are a daily occurrence on this stretch of North Hillcrest Road, where the perfect row of Canary Island date palm trees have made it the TikTok and Instagram geolocation of choice for locals, film crews and tourists.

"We just saw it on TikTok and wanted to take some fun pictures," said Brandon Lopez, who was visiting from Peru and shooting photos of his girlfriend on film. "It's a good destination for pictures like this.

TOURISTS Evyatar Halevi, left, who has a popular TikTok account, and Raz Halevi stop to take photos in the middle of a busy street in Beverly Hills.

(Robert Gauthier Los Angeles Times)

Forget the backlash against palm trees from critics, who say they are not native to L.A., suck up too much water, attract invasive species and fail to even provide much shade.