At 10-12 Bat Galim Boulevard, about a hundred meters from the unfortunate casino building, stands a real architectural gem, the home of Rachel and Dr. Yitzhak Samsonov.
Dr. Samsonov
The house built in 1921 (first phase), is one of the first to be built in the Bat Galim neighborhood.
The house contains a piece of history. Dr. Yitzhak Samsonov, Rachel's husband, was a veterinarian who worked for Baron Rothschild's Pika company and also as a district veterinarian.
Yitzhak Samsonov, born in Russia, immigrated to Israel at the age of 10, studied at the "Mikvah Israel" and then studied veterinary medicine in France, on behalf of Baron Rothschild's administration. Upon his return to the Land of Israel, he worked as a veterinarian at the service of the PICA company.
In 1922, a historic meeting of the veterinary doctors in Israel was held at Beit Samsonov, a meeting in which it was decided to establish the "Association of Jewish Veterinary Doctors in Israel".
Samsonov House
The first phase of the house, the subject of our article, was built in 1921 and was among Bat Galim's first houses. The complex included a front house, which was used for the family's residence (the house with the tower) and a back house, which was used as a clinic for animals and a garage.
The house is a stone house, two stories, designed in the so-called "eclectic" style, which combines oriental elements with European elements. Thus, next to doorways decorated with arches, there is a rounded balcony and other simple geometric shapes, in a modern style, and above them all rises a kind of tower with a pointed tiled roof in the shape of a pyramid.
The building planner
The building was built according to the plans of the architect Joseph Barsky, born in Russia, who graduated in architecture from the Imperial Academy in St. Petersburg. He immigrated to Israel in 1907, settled in Jerusalem where he designed, among other things, the Bikur Holim hospital.
In 1909, with the founding of the "Ahuzat Beit" neighborhood, aka today's Tel Aviv, he was invited to design the "Herzliya Gymnasium" building together with Boris Schatz, the founder of "Bezalel". The building is designed in an eclectic style that combines East and West which will later be called "Aretz Israeli".
In 1910 he moved to Haifa where he was Brewald's assistant in the construction of the historic Technion building in Hadar Carmel. Apart from that, he designed the house of Abdel Rahman Al Haj in Haifa (see an article in this section) and also the Samsonov house in Bat Galim in the eclectic style mentioned above.
Beit Samsonov - a site for preservation
The Samsonov House was declared a heritage site by the Council for the Preservation of Sites as well as a building to be preserved by the Haifa Municipality. The building underwent a thorough renovation and preservation and you can admire its beauty even today.
Note: Dear readers, the articles in this section are based on open information published in sources such as Wikipedia and other websites and may include various historical inaccuracies arising from the aforementioned sources.
The building is haunted. Many stories about people who passed by the building at night and heard voices and screams. Legend has it that once the police were called because residents of a nearby building heard such loud screams, but the police arrived and there was no one in the building.
One night in the 90s, some sailors went out for a run from the BHD and heard shouts as they passed the casino. The wind carried the sound waves
from the building. They arrived in front of him and tried to check the source and found nothing. After they returned from the tour they heard screams again and the phenomenon returned again. They stood in front of the building and also checked the two stone houses on the other side and were unable to understand where the screams came from.
The Samsonov family are relatives of a family that has been considered for years as the largest family in Israel, from the Lerer family, one of the founders of the city of Nes Ziona, which was then considered a colony. It is true that the Samsonov family home is considered one of the most beautiful homes in Shekinah Bat Galim, where the famous doctor Dr. Hugo Berger, and the Yakovovsky family, from the Rosenberg hospital, also lived. This great painting is a great image that requires the preservation of the building.
Kudos to the artist and the talented painter Dr. David Bar On for the very special performance.
Thank you for your interesting comment, dear Uzi!
The building next to it, which is also for preservation, is constantly undergoing renovations. They dug a cellar under it, broke new openings in the ancient stone walls and the hand is still bent. It turns out that the preservation factors in the municipality do not mind this...
Thank you for your response, the matter you raised is very serious, it is advisable to complain to a licensed and construction ministry.
They surely know.
The reason for their non-operation can be either ignorance or stupidity.
All apparently of course. No one thinks they're stupid.
In my opinion, Beit Samsonov is the most beautiful house in Bat Galim. In my childhood it seemed to me like an enchanted castle. At the time, a huge garden grew in front of it. (maybe even today) in the blooming season the appearance of the house and the tree were unforgettable. Thank you David for the great drawing.
Thank you very much for your moving comment, dear Neely. If my paintings manage to evoke pleasant memories - no one is happier than me.