Last December, the southeast corner of Rodeo Drive and Dayton Way was a trolley stop. Thursday through Sunday evenings from 6 to 9 p.m., a free city trolley left from there for the Lights on the Lily Pond show at Beverly Gardens Park, and it ran until Jan. 4, as the Daily News reported in its "freebie of the week" column. In 2024, the Beverly Hills Chamber of Commerce listed departures on the half hour, with a second stop on North Santa Monica Boulevard near the park.
This year the corner is just a corner. The Jolly Trolly is one of several things the city removed from its 2026 holiday program. The other change sits a few steps away on Rodeo, which has the most heavily funded single night of the season. Put those two decisions together and this season looks different. The holidays in 90210 are pulling in toward the Golden Triangle, and the walk between the displays has become part of the outing.
Where the cuts landed
The changes come from a City Council staff report prepared for the Sept. 1 meeting. At an April 21 study session, the Council reviewed a zero-based budget that included reductions to citywide lighting and décor. The review aimed to cut annual décor costs by 50%. Staff got the 2026 cost down by 37% by dropping some items and scaling back others rather than buying new parts and equipment.
The report lists these changes:
- The Jolly Trolly is discontinued.
- La Cienega loses its colored lights and canopy spheres and keeps its year-round white twinkle lights.
- Camden Drive loses its colored lights and canopy décor and also keeps its year-round white twinkle lights.
- Banner up-lighting is discontinued.
- Citywide twinkle lights move from yearly replacement to every other year. Staff will also study lighting every other tree in some areas.
Camden and La Cienega will still glow, but only in white. The colored layer that marked them as holiday streets is gone for 2026.
The one night that kept its budget
Rodeo Drive's holiday program is paid for differently. According to the staff report, the Rodeo décor and lighting celebration are funded through Transient Occupancy Tax revenue set aside for tourism and marketing. The city collects a 14% tax on hotel room sales, and for about 27 years one-seventh of that revenue has formed the tourism and marketing budget. Citywide décor comes from a separate capital budget plus an agreement with Utopia Worldwide, Inc.
That separation is why the two budgets moved in opposite directions this year.
| Citywide holiday décor | Rodeo Drive Holiday Lighting Celebration | |
|---|---|---|
| Funding source | City capital budget and the Utopia Worldwide agreement | Hotel-tax tourism and marketing funds |
| 2026 change | Cost cut 37% | City request of $667,575 |
| Event total | No event | $712,575, with $45,000 expected from sponsors |
| Décor total | No dollar figure given in the report | $566,959.20 for Rodeo décor, for a combined Rodeo budget of $1,279,534.20 |
| Extras | Jolly Trolly and colored street lighting discontinued | About $70,000 in fee waivers plus marketing costs the city absorbs, not counted in the total |
A Sept. 22 follow-up report says the Council approved the Rodeo program, including the $667,575 city contribution, at its Sept. 1 study session.
The celebration is on Thursday, Nov. 19, from 5 to 8 p.m. on Rodeo Drive. It is free and open to the public. This year's theme, "50 Years of Brilliance," marks the 50th anniversary of the Rodeo Drive Committee. The Love Beverly Hills event page lists Ali Ward as host, vocalist Dani Armstrong, six-time GRAMMY winner Daniel Ho performing "Island Holidays," and DJ Lady Sha. Two winners of the first "Rodeo Drive Has Talent" open call will also perform, and the night ends with fireworks. On the same page, Rodeo Drive Committee President Kathy Gohari says the committee is "proud to honor Rodeo Drive's legacy while welcoming a new generation to discover the magic of this very special street."
Why Rodeo's lights hang straight down this year
The street's décor was also redesigned. The first plan strung garlands across Rodeo. The staff report says the street light poles weren't structurally sound enough to carry them, and the large amount of construction on the block made the Council and the Rodeo Drive Committee want a feature high overhead that pulls attention upward.
The city's vendor, JBB, proposed expanding the "dripping" lights that have hung in the center-median palms for several years. This year every sidewalk palm gets them too, and strands run from the sidewalks to the median. That makes 16 strands down the block, up from the 4 garlands first proposed, at the same budgeted cost. Public Works found no risk to the trees, pedestrians or traffic. So the lights you see on Rodeo after Nov. 19 are designed to draw your eyes above the scaffolding.
The lit map, street by street
Here is what remains on the city's 2026 décor list. Most of it sits inside or right next to the Triangle.
| Location | 2026 décor |
|---|---|
| Business district | Warm white lights throughout |
| Beverly Gardens Park | Menorah scene and tree, plus the Lights on the Lily Pond show |
| Beverly Cañon Gardens | Same décor as the last two years |
| North Beverly and North Canon | Street spans, kept white |
| South Beverly | Canopy spheres |
| Robertson Boulevard | Lit street poles and lighted garland with bows |
| South Santa Monica Boulevard, west of Wilshire | Snowflakes |
| Wilshire | Wilshire spans |
| The Triangle | Bows, garland and background audio |
| City Hall | Static projection on the Crescent side |
| Citywide | Santa and Reindeer display, banners in business areas |
| La Cienega and Camden | Year-round white twinkle lights only |
The Lily Pond show will reuse earlier programming and may use fewer reeds. The city hasn't posted 2026 showtimes yet. In 2023, the Beverly Hills Courier reported shows every 15 minutes from 6 to 9:30 p.m., which gives a sense of the format.
Walking the old trolley loop
Without the trolley, the trip from the Rodeo and Dayton stop to the park is a walk up Rodeo toward Santa Monica Boulevard. It happens to pass right under the new dripping strands. For a longer loop that adds color, return through Beverly Cañon Gardens and down North Canon or North Beverly, where the white spans stay up.
The Triangle also has new places to stop for dinner along the way. The Courier's Sept. 24 dining roundup lists:
- Azur and Bad Roman on Canon Drive
- The Brothers Sushi, recently opened on South Beverly Drive
- Vicky on Rodeo, an all-day brasserie at Two Rodeo
- Malka at SIXTY Beverly Hills, which arrived in August
- Edo Baldi's Tuscan steakhouse and the rooftop Gemma at the Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills
- The Poza rooftop at L'Ermitage and a caviar menu at Maybourne Bar
Robertson is the one corridor outside the Triangle that keeps both its garland and its bows, and the same roundup notes that Sushi Nakazawa recently opened there. If you want a holiday dinner on the east side of town, Robertson is the decorated option this year. La Cienega no longer is.
For shopping between stops, the Los Angeles Times listed Ferragamo as open at 357 N. Rodeo Drive and MOTHER at 351 N. Canon Drive as of Sept. 1.
Getting there on Nov. 19
The trolley is gone, but this is the first holiday season with a subway station nearby. Metro opened Wilshire/La Cienega on May 8, 2026, along with Wilshire/Fairfax and Wilshire/La Brea. All three stations close from Oct. 23 through Nov. 1 for tie-in work, with bus bridges in place. Metro has scheduled service to resume Monday, Nov. 2, well before the Rodeo lighting.
Driving into the Triangle along Wilshire takes some planning. As of Oct. 8, Beverly Press reported that Wilshire had two lanes open in each direction between Beverly and Crescent drives. Beverly Drive could drop to one lane each way, and sidewalks on Wilshire's north side could close. That work is for the next station, which Metro calls Beverly Drive Station. Its station box runs from Canon Drive to Beverly Drive. Metro's October forecast puts it in operation in spring 2027, and the schedule is subject to change.
Dates to keep
- Nov. 2: D Line service scheduled to resume at Wilshire/La Cienega
- Nov. 19, 5 to 8 p.m.: Rodeo Drive Holiday Lighting Celebration, free
- Dec. 7, 5 p.m.: Community Menorah lighting at Beverly Gardens Park, listed on Love Beverly Hills, with the time set in the city staff report
Hanukkah begins Friday, Dec. 4. The staff report moved the Mayor-led Menorah lighting to Monday, the fourth night, so it wouldn't conflict with the Sabbath. It takes place beside the menorah display in Beverly Gardens Park, a short walk up Rodeo from the old trolley stop at Dayton Way.
At NewMarket Homes LA, we follow the details that change how our neighborhoods feel day to day, like which blocks stay lit and how to get to Rodeo on Nov. 19. If you live near the Triangle and want to know how this season's changes around your block fit into what your home is worth, request a free home valuation and we'll go through it with you.
