In the Eastern Saudi City of Al Khobar, the King Khalid Road was once one of the most beautiful streets in the region. Full of shoppers local as well as foreigners; photos of its past will tell you just as why it was given the label of the Saudi Champs-Élysées’.

Abdullah Al-Madani, A Bahraini researcher and academic wrote a piece on this street recalling its glorious days for Al-Ayam newspaper. Here are some of its aspects that he sheds light upon.

The glorious days of the street stretched from the 50s to the 90s. 

Madani recalls that the beginning of the streets rise can be traced to when two modern buildings were constructed on both sides of the streets. They dedicated their ground floor for shops. Soon other buildings in the street followed suit.

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Further adding to the street’s beauty the Al Khobar municipality and Aramco planned and paved the streets of the city and made it resemble the same model as New York City. 

And, before you knew it hundreds of shops filled the street selling a wide variety of goods. 

The streets were so well made that there was sufficient space for shoppers and pedestrians to pass through.

Madani makes mention of when King Saud visited the city and people lined up the street and music and dancing shows were held. This made people from neighboring cities come visit the spectacle. The same happened during King Faisal’s visit when he ascended the throne. 

In fact, during the 50s even the police department used the streets for their weekly parades.

However, the street lost importance since the shopping habits of the city’s residents changed as they started to prefer modern air-conditioned malls over it.