Los Angeles’ most iconic party destination is a shadow of its former self as businesses flee and plummeting footfall leaves it in jeopardy, The Post can reveal.

The Sunset Strip, a stretch in West Hollywood once known as the “the sexiest mile-and-a-half in America,” now has dozens of “for lease” signs and boarded up storefronts up and down the street.

Both locals and workers said was in crisis mode, with fearing it has “lost the soul” that made it one of the most famous destinations in the country.

Data from the council show Sunset Strip is one of the most expensive places to base a company in the city, narrowly edged out by Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills and Melrose Avenue down the road in WeHo.

This combined with falling footfall and changing consumer habits since the pandemic has seen the street almost unrecognizable from its heyday.

The California Post walked the Sunset Strip over the course of the last week and found empty lots, desolate stores, a dearth of shoppers and even homeless people now living in doorways.

Several business owners said the downturn began after COVID, coupled with rising rents and an affordability crisis that is driving out nightclubs and mom and pop shops that made the street famous.

Sofi Mamo, the owner of A Divine H20, said the strip has changed for the worse, warning rocketing rent and vanishing landmarks no longer make it the hub for tourists and locals.

She said: “A lot of the businesses are struggling to break even because the cost of living is rising and the rent is rising.

Since opening A Divine H20 nearly two decades ago in the Sunset Plaza, Mamo told The Post her rent is now “three to four times more.”

She added: “I think every small business, every mom and pop, all the small businesses are in danger of extinction.

“People used to just come here to experience culture. It kind of lost the soul. There were so many landmarks that people just go and experience.”

Last year’s State of the City from West Hollywood City Council revealed retail spaces were renting for around $74.64 per square foot per year and offices were at $65.31.

That compares to $71.01 for retail and $54.23 for office in the nearby Rainbow District, which has exploded in popularity in recent years.

Meanwhile in the Mid-City area the cost plummeted to just $58.94 per square foot of retail space and $50.27 per square foot for office space.

The report also gave stark findings on the vanishing appeal of opening a shop or nightclub on Sunset Strip, with vacancy rate at 10.3% for retail and 16.3% for offices.

On top of this the council released updated figures last summer on the plummeting number of people going to the city, with 300,000 fewer visiting in the first quarter of 2025 compared to the year before.

The numbers also revealed visitors were predominantly spending between just 10 to 30 minutes in West Hollywood during their trips, with only 9% staying for over four hours.

“There used to be a lot of people walking here, but no more — I find it more like billboards,” Rabe Mazahreh, who has lived in WeHo for the past five years, said. “I don’t know what’s going on.”

Sunset Strip has seen a wave of closures in recent years, including the decades-old Chinese venue called Chin Chin, the landmark French restaurant Le Petit Four, and the Pink Taco which was formerly the home of the exclusive nightclub, the Roxbury, in the 1990s.

West Hollywood’s famous live music venue, the Viper Room, announced back in April it will close its doors later this summer to make way for an 11-story luxury high rise and residential complex, according to Today LA.

Even Rumble, a boxing brand that had celebrity backing from the likes of Sylvester Stallone and Justin Bieber, couldn’t survive — closing its doors in June of last year due to “the current economic climate and the challenges of operating on the Sunset Strip.”

Rad, a longtime WeHo resident, said: “This strip was like America’s playground for decades. The people that come here now are people that are riding on past glory or they want to come and support it.”

He believes higher taxes have contributed to businesses and people moving out of the area, but also pointed to societal changes since the pandemic.

“Social media has prevented people from being social and leaving their homes,” he said, while noting that when people do go out, “everything’s much more expensive.”

“You’re paying 20 bucks a drink here,” Rad said. “People can’t afford to come out and drink at some of these places.”

In its height, the Sunset Strip was a rock and roll destination with bustling tourism, celebrity hotspots and late night hang outs that helped cement its place in pop culture history.

“People pouring onto the streets, it was really fun,” Daniella Spires and Penny Angela told The Post. “It was authentic.”

Now, it gives off more “influencer vibes,” as both Spires and Angela said they largely avoid Sunset Boulevard.

Whiskey A Go Go, The Roxy and the Chateau Marmont are just a few of the places that still offer a glimpse into the Sunset Strip’s storied past, standing in stark contrast to the new era that is unfolding.

Local resident Shaina Guyer said she hopes new businesses that are coming into the strip, such as Galerie, will bring it new life.

She said: “I do think its lacking social energy, but with new places like Galerie opening and new places up and coming, I’m excited to see what’s going to change in the future.”

But she said the change is a little bitter sweet. “I wish there was more intention to keep those places alive, but hopefully places like Chateau can keep the Hollywood Magic.”

While traffic was noticeably less, Maximo Ahumada, a bartender at the Naughty Pig, said the bar remains busy and has started opening early for fans to enjoy the FIFA World Cup matches.

He added: “I have strong faith in it.”

Another local, Sol Yamin, added that while it was “unfortunate” the nostalgia was being replaced, he said the area has to “adapt” to what people want — which is “fresh, trendy, upscale businesses coming to the Sunset Strip.”

“In the next five years it’s going to be the best area in all of Los Angeles,” he added.

The Post asked the West Hollywood City Council for comment but did not hear back.