The building, known as the "castle house", is built on the side of the mountain in front of the Panorama Towers, at 95 Yaffe Nof Street and calmly overlooks the spectacular view of Haifa Bay.
Shortcut history
The building was built between 1935-1937 for Maurice and Anis Aviad, members of a very wealthy Arab-Catholic family, according to the plans of the Italian architect Luigi Merulla. The Aviad family owned land in the Beit Shan Valley and other places throughout Israel. One of her sons, Adv. Jamil Aviad, was a member of the Haifa City Council.
Between the years 1937-38, Pinchas Rotenberg, the "elder of Menharim", the founder of the Electric Company, lived in the building. His family lived here until the completion of the construction of their own house on Hanasi Blvd.
The Aviad family, the owners of the building, left Israel in 48, with the establishment of the state, and moved to Damascus. With the departure of the Arab owners, the building passed to the Authority for Absentee Properties and Jewish families from diverse backgrounds inhabited the house for different periods.
In 1950 the building was purchased by the Elisher family, an old Spanish family originally from Jerusalem.
The family of future law professor Ruth Gavizon also lived in this building for about 20 years, until the 70s.
the building
As mentioned, the building was designed by an Italian architect named Luigi Merulla. The three-story house is built on the steep side of the mountain, under Yaffe Nof Dahiom street, with a total area of about 500 square meters. The lowest level, the basement, is intended for servants' rooms, laundry and cisterns for storing water. The level above it, the ground floor, was the living level and had a lounge, kitchen, changing room and bar. The third, upper level, included 4 bedrooms and a dressing room. On both living levels there are balconies, most of which overlook the view of the bay.
The building is built of concrete covered with Jerusalem stone, usually with "Tubza" hewn, i.e. embossed hewn. It is designed in an eclectic (small) style, combining western and eastern elements. For example, some of the building's openings are decorated with arches of various types and the others are rectangular openings with wooden louver shutters. The use of stone, the local building material, is also an expression of the same Lactani style. The multi-sloped tile roof is covered with red tiles. The steeple, with its pointed roof, also covered with tiles, reinforces the impression that a lost hand planted a Tuscan castle on Carmel.
Street Panorama, bubble multi Cultural development
In the 20's and 30's of the last century, Panorama Street, Yaffe Nof Dehayom St., was a favorite street for members of Haifa's upper class, mainly Arabs but also Jews. Indeed, the neighbors of the Aviad family, the owners of the castle house, were the Jewish Moyal family (no. 97). Further down the street were the homes of the Azam family (no. 18) and the Effendi house (no. 56) and Mrs. Epstein built the "Herzliya" hotel at no. 34. The houses were spacious, most of them stone buildings, and enjoyed the spectacular view of the bay and the pleasant weather of Carmel.
The "castle house" is one of the tangible expressions of the special status of Panorama Street, a street that reflects, among other things, the Arab-Jewish coexistence as it emerged about a century ago in Haifa.
Thanks
My thanks are hereby given thanks to Ms. A blunt statement, from the Haifa History Association, an expert on Haifa architecture and its architects, for her help in obtaining essential information for editing the article.
Dear readers,
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good week!
I did not mention for a moment that the Arabs left with the encouragement of the Arab leadership! And you can expand on this topic if necessary
You wrote it (you presented my words in a different context)
This was promised to them by Jews, whether they were military leaders or influential Jews, including some of the refugees, most of the refugees fled by force of arms and fear.
The Arabs have made mistakes over the years, but this has nothing to do with the problem the Israeli side has, which is to admit that the Zionist organizations did indeed expel and murder Arabs in Haifa and outside of Haifa.
My family members and friends and acquaintances were forced to leave Haifa at gunpoint! And some of them had family members murdered!
Indeed, some of the Ocholesia remained in Haifa, they were gathered in Wadi Nisnas like the Sweidan family) continued their lives "safely" during the period of military rule until 1968
No one holds absolute truth and of course and naturally the truth you present is not absolute either
good week
As a child and even later I always fantasized about this building. He always seemed to me to be from the land of fairy tales. Thanks for the interesting information.
Thanks for your comment, glad you found interest in the article. Good week!
Regarding the fate of the family
Their fate is the same as many affluent and well-established Haifa Arabs, whether scholars or businessmen (some Christians and some Muslims) who did not exactly leave but were forced to leave or were simply threatened by the Haganah/Palmah organizations (such as the Sweidan family from Crusader Street who were ordered by the Haganah to vacate their magnificent home within a few hours ) Several Christian families from Abbas Street, some of whom even had work and trade relations with Jews in Haifa, were promised that if they left for Lebanon/Syria, they would be able to return after the end of the fighting.. Of course, no one returned.. These families may have left in a respectable manner due to their economic capacity and the means available to them (In contrast to refugees from lower classes whose photos are common from the events of 1948, they simply walked on foot with their shakers) In the end, the commonality of all refugees is that they all lost everything .. and they all lost their homeland, both those who fled from fear and those (the majority) who fled them directly and by threat.. It's time to tell and face the truth
Thank you for your response. Here you told your truth which is not the whole truth. Most of the 48 refugees fled with the encouragement of Arab leaders who promised them that they would return with the victory over the Jews. And some stayed in Haifa and lived their lives safely. This also belongs to the truth... Have a good week!
You just forgot to mention that those who caused the fighting to break out were the Arabs who refused to accept the partition plan. War, whether you like it or not, is a "dirty" thing and involves devastating consequences that, frankly, harm ordinary citizens.
You can read in the wiki, I recently expanded the entry on the house. It was indeed built between these years and originally there were servants' rooms and a water reservoir on the basement floor. The programs are very beautiful and stylish. There is a record of Merola in the Central Office of Architects of Rome, he closed the practice in 1950.
Correction of a small mistake: the Aviad family did not leave the house in 1948, unless they volunteered to hand over their beautiful house to the State of Israel and relocate as refugees without compensation. If they did not volunteer for all of this, then they probably became refugees against their will, so it is important to tell about their fate and not just about the fate of the house.
Thank you for your response. I'm sure they obviously left as refugees. If you have information about their fate, please add. Good week!
Well done to you, my friend David Bar On, for all the reporting and all the information. Shabbat Shalom and blessed to you.
Thank you very much, dear Rafol, have a good week!
Is it possible to enter the outer area of the building in order to get an impression of the building? Thanks to everyone who brings a piece of history about our beautiful city.
Thank you for your response, it is possible to visit according to the owner's permission.
There are several inaccuracies in the article. The Havanim next door in Ypa Nof 97 is called Beit Nachmani.
The Nachmani brothers bought the land from the same owners and built the house in 1936. The builder's son was visiting Israel and told me. The stones were brought from the Paki'in area by sea and with donkeys in what is today called Madrigot Gedira. Chipping is done in the yard. The balustrades from the Lebanese cases are in a special pattern, as is the curved wooden railing in the staircase room.
The Bifah Nof 95 building also has a gallery under the tiled roof. It was built in the English up-stress and down-stress style. On the entrance floor was a magnificent library.
Thank you for your response. According to Wikipedia, Bipa Nof 97 lives in Moyal Renovation. Good week!