The old commercial center is located north of Paris Square (historic Hamra Square), between the streets of Independence Road (British Kings Road) and Natanzon Street which is the continuation of Jaffa Street.
The first Jewish commercial center
With the accelerated development of Haifa in the 20s of the last century and the growth of its Jewish population, a need arose to establish a modern Jewish commercial center. The Arab center that operated at the time close to Hamra Square and the Al-Gyarina Mosque no longer met the needs.
A group of Jewish businessmen whose members included Shabtai Levi, Shmuel Pevzner, Aharon Rosenfeld and Yaakov Caspi, purchased the plot of land on which the Jewish commercial center would be built, from the French order "The Sisters of Nazareth" in 1921-22.
Architectural design competition
In 1923, an international architectural design competition was announced for the design of the commercial center. The first prize was won by the proposal of the architects Erich Mendelsohn (planner of the historic Rambam church, remember?) and Richard Neutra, which was considered too bold. Therefore, the entrepreneurs preferred the proposal of the Jerusalem architect Fritz Kornberg that won the second prize, a proposal that was considered conservative and had a good chance of receiving the approval of the British government.
The commercial center complex
Kornberg's proposal consisted of 2 blocks of buildings uniform in their design, bounded by 3 streets parallel to the sea that reached the edge of today's Independence Road. Perpendicular to these streets, a central axis was planned called "Palm Street" after the ancient palms that were in its center. The buildings had 3 floors: the ground floor was intended for commerce and the upper floors for apartments with small, stylish balconies, some of which faced the sea.
In 1928, the construction of the modern business complex was completed by the company "Solel and Bona". But, in less than 10 years, with the establishment of a new commercial center on Bankim Street today (see article), the complex was nicknamed "the old commercial center".
the architects
- Erich Mendelssohn (1887-1953) was a Jewish-German architect with an international reputation who is considered one of the most important architects of modern architecture. He is the designer of the historic Rambam Hospital building, Beit Chaim Weizman and Hadassah Hospital in Mount Scopus.
- Richard Neutra (1892-1970) was a Jewish architect born in Austria, lived and worked most of his life in California, is considered one of the most prominent and important modernist architects in the world.
- Fritz Kornberg (1890-1944), a Jewish architect born in Germany, immigrated to Israel in 1920, lived and worked in Jerusalem. Among his works are the Rehavia Gymnasium building, the home of the writer S. Y. Agnon and buildings in Kfar Ben Shemen.
The Turkish market
Over the years, a series of market stalls were set up on Nachum Dobrin Street, one of the complex's streets, and later the area was called the "Turks' Market". Some of the Thessaloniki port workers who came to Haifa with the encouragement of Abba Khushi lived in the area.
The market operated under poor sanitary conditions until the early 2000s, when the city council made a decision to evacuate all market traders and renovate the complex. The name of the palm street was changed to "Kehilath Saloniki" street.
Site for the filming of the movie "I used to be"
With the market stalls free, a thorough renovation began and the area underwent a necessary facelift. Cafes, boutique bars and galleries opened there. In 2010, the complex was used as a photo location for the film "Once upon a time" by director Avi Nesher. It can be noted with satisfaction that the "crown to its former glory" has been returned and that the place is gaining new life.
Building preservation
The complex was declared a "building for preservation" by the Municipality of Haifa and the Council for the Preservation of Heritage Sites in Israel. It can be said that the work of preservation was done with sensitivity and in general the original character of the complex was not damaged, but even today not all the buildings have been renovated.
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.
Shabtai without B, Jacob without V, Rambam with a final mem.
thank you for your response. There is no contradiction between your words and what is said in the article. In the article it was said that the place was called the market of the Turks and also that the Thessalonikians actually lived in the complex.
Please stop using the name Turkish Market. There were no Turks there and no market.
There were deviations, and some of them were of Greek food. Workers from Thessaloniki lived there.
What's the deal with the Turks? Someone in the stupid underground city administration made this mistake
And since then this misnomer has continued. Call it the old mall, call it the palm center,
Call it the Thessaloniki Complex.
It has nothing to do with the market or the Turks and it does the place a historical injustice
Because they associate him with the Ottomans and there is and was no connection to them.
Thank you very much for your response, I would appreciate an invitation to lecture.
Honorable Dr. David Brown. We would be very happy for your lecture at the Haifa Rotary Club.
Avi Gruber, the second son of Eliezer Gruber, lives at 5 Wolfson St. in the center of Carmel. A lot on which the Wolfson Keller complex is located, which was called "the dog's lot", owned by Grover, which in exchange for the construction of the complex was given to a contractor Peleg, who built a luxurious residential complex with 56 apartments, which were sold to apartment owners, most of whom live there with great pride.
David you always move us. Places of many years with many memories of the past, simply moving, full of nostalgia for the days of old, full of simplicity, beauty of the past. And anyone who added only adds more to the old lower city. It moves me every time I pass through these streets. The city of Haifa is beautiful to me. And Hadar must be rebuilt because there streets were destroyed..
Thank you very much, Rafol, my friend, Shabbat Shalom.
All the best to you my friend Dr. David Bar On. Shalom and blessed Shabbat.