The Haifa Tower, located at 63 Herzl Street, rises 23 stories and is used for commerce, offices, and a 3-star hotel.
Brief history
Originally, a large cinema was planned to be built on this lot. Architects John and Drew Everson from New York and the office of Haifa architect Shmuel Rozov participated in its design, but the project did not materialize.
The cinema was intended to belong to the American cinema chain "Twentieth Century Fox". The chain, which belonged to the famous studios of the same name, planned to establish cinemas in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem as well. As mentioned, architect Shmuel Rozov (1975-1900), one of the most senior architects working in the city at the time, was invited to design the project in Haifa.
The cinema plan was supposed to include a main hall with about 900 seats and a secondary hall with about 450 seats, as well as an open parking lot facing Hehalutz Street. However, since the plan encountered difficulties in getting permits, the developers shelved the cinema plan and began a new initiative: building a tower that would include commercial space, offices, and a hotel.
The Tower Building
The 80-story building, built in the 23s, was designed by Haifa architect Moshe (Mocha) Oren in the 70s. The hotel, which occupies most of its upper floors, opened in 1992, after standing unfinished for 16 years. It is located in a long row of old 2-3-story buildings. It is the tallest building (about 70 m) built on Herzl Street and therefore stands out very much in its immediate and distant surroundings.
The building includes a covered parking lot on its lower floors, above which are commercial spaces facing Herzl Street and Hehalutz Street, office floors, and a 100-room, 3-star hotel. The unusual, tiered design adds to its prominence in the surroundings and is clearly visible even from a distance. Elements that were planned but not implemented in the building were an underground passageway intended to connect the commercial floor on Herzl Street with the other side of the busy street. A restaurant was planned to be built on the roof of the building, from which diners would also be able to enjoy a panoramic view of the city.
Due to its unique design, the tower stands out in Haifa's urban landscape. It is clearly visible even from a distance, to all those arriving at Hadar from the east (the check post).
Architect Moshe (Mocha) Oren
Architect Moshe (Mocha) Oren immigrated from Poland and settled in Haifa. He was part of the group of "veteran" architects active in Haifa, which also included architects El Mansfeld, Moshe Gershtel, and Munyo Gitai (Weinerow).
Most of the projects he worked on were residential. In the Danya neighborhood, many of the villas built in the 60s and 70s were designed by him.
Besides the "Haifa Tower", the public projects designed by his office include: the Canada Dormitory Building at the Technion and the Commercial Center and the "Grand Canyon". He also designed the "Tower" Hotel in Jerusalem.
Architect Moshe (Mocha) Oren died in 1990.
Mocha Oren's daughters chose to follow in their father's footsteps: Anat Zohar became an architect, while Nili Oren dealt with the management side of the family firm. Today, grandson Guy Arbel continues his grandfather's footsteps for the third time at the "Oren Architects" firm.
Thanks
My thanks are hereby extended to my colleague, architect Dina Friedman, for her assistance in obtaining essential information to complete this article.
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Indeed, a global fur trade center…
This is the story they told the municipality in order to get it to support increasing building rights.
To this day, the building is a global fur trade center. As you may recall, this was its original purpose. The building opposite also sells building materials instead of furs and spies.
Thank you for your response. Global fur trade?!…
History History.. The entire area is changing its face.. The Haredi community is starting to descend to the Herzl St. neighborhood. Take 5 years from now and the entire area will become Haredi.. I don't get into it at all whether it's good or not.. This is the reality and it's close..
Thank you for your response, I agree with your opinion.
And what's the problem with the area becoming ultra-Orthodox? Hadar is already neglected and full of crime, so what's wrong if a different population comes and populates it?
Unfortunately, this structure highlights an architectural phenomenon that is very prominent in Israel: the lack of connection between buildings and the environment in which they are built.
Everywhere you see a jumble of styles and trends that don't connect to any connecting line and create a feeling of chaos and disorder.
Thank you for your response. Indeed, the architect's desire to inflate his ego sometimes outweighs the need to plan while taking the environment into account.
At the time, my good friend was the hotel's security officer. And the elevator there fell with tourists, injuring them to varying degrees during the emergency braking.
Today, the only thing I remember from the place is a few female intelligence officers in the building's lobby, as bitchy and vicious as rabid pinscher dogs with heavy Russian accents. Their sole purpose is to prevent random visitors from finding a bathroom in the complex.
In the usual way, David, you played it! All the best
Thank you very much, have a good week!
Really inaccurate. Because in this specific case, it actually caused small businesses and small merchants to prosper.
There is no vacuum – it is a building at zero distance from the market – shops have opened around it... and light (small) restaurants... falafel stands, etc. (does anyone remember anything... have you ever visited there?!) that took advantage of the proximity to the markets (including the flea market).
An impressive building from the time when Hadar was the center of the city.
Of course, most of the merchants didn't pay them anything (because they didn't open businesses inside the building, probably because of the rental prices that were intended to recoup the investment) - but the combination was successful.
This is despite the fact that the number of customers has only been decreasing (there are many grumbling "reels" in the city).
But don't continue like this - Zehavi is nervous with tension.
thank you for your response.
Likewise, Moshe Gershtel died in 1961, most of his activity in the city was in the 30s and 40s, and he has no connection to Oren's generation.
This strengthens the claim that the cinema was planned by Rozov, after Gershtel's death.
The cinema was originally designed by Moshe Gershtel, not Rozov.
Thank you for your response, but according to my sources, it was designed by Rozov.
The amount of damage that one architectural firm did to Haifa…
Almost all the most harmful projects were planned by them.
Really inaccurate. Because in this specific case, it actually caused small businesses and small merchants to prosper.
There is no vacuum – it is a building at zero distance from the market – shops have opened around it... and light (small) restaurants... falafel stands, etc. (does anyone remember anything... have you ever visited there?!) that took advantage of the proximity to the markets (including the flea market).
An impressive building from the time when Hadar was the center of the city.
Of course, most of the merchants didn't pay them anything (because they didn't open businesses inside the building, probably because of the rental prices that were intended to recoup the investment) - but the combination was successful.
This is despite the fact that the number of customers has only been decreasing (there are many grumbling "reels" in the city).
But don't continue like this - Zehavi is nervous with tension.