City Center • The Dick Family's All-In-One Incarnation

The City Center building is located in the northern part of the German Colony, at the intersection of Ben Gurion Boulevard and Jaffa Streets, and its address is 6 Ben Gurion Boulevard.

Dick's All-Bo

 According to the 1882 German colony map, the lot on which the City Center building was built was home to the large trading house of the Templar family, Abram Dick.

The Dick family was one of the wealthiest in the German colony and their residence – at 8 Ben Gurion Ave. – was one of the largest and most luxurious in the colony. Later, their sons, who continued the family tradition, were among the largest merchants in Haifa. The family ran a kind of department store that sold a variety of products, from everyday products to agricultural machinery. Among their regular customers were also Jewish settlers from the northern colonies. Agronomist Aharon Aharonson from Zichron Yaakov worked for a while as an agent in Dick’s trading house, before devoting himself to his scientific and political work.

In a 1984 photograph taken by the Haifa Municipality's engineering director, the lot appears as an empty lot, without any structure.

First incarnation: movie theaters

In the years 31-38, there was once a "Gan Ha'ir" cinema on the site, and in the 40s, a pair of cinemas operated there: "Carmel" - an open summer cinema - and "Ganim" - an indoor cinema.

"Carmel" began operating in 48 and operated under this name until 1957. Starting in 58, the place began to be known as "Carmel Ganim."

From 1955 onwards, the Carmel Ganim Cinema has been involved in the story of the Ovitz family, a family of 7 dwarfs from Central Europe. The family survived Josef Mengele's experiments in the Auschwitz camp and immigrated to Israel in 49. After a difficult period of wandering and performing entertainment throughout the country, they finally received a franchise to operate the two cinemas in the German colony - Carmel Ganim. The family members continued to operate as a group and operated the cinema themselves and even lived in the complex for a period of time, until they moved to an apartment nearby. In 77, the last film was screened in Carmel Ganim. 

The Ovitch family was immortalized in the 2010 film "Once Upon a Time" by director and screenwriter Avi Nesher. In a 1984 photograph taken by the Haifa Municipality's engineering director, the lot appears as an empty lot, without any structure.

Second incarnation: City Center

Among the developers of the City Center building was Gad Zeevi, who also initiated the construction of the Grand Canyon. The building, which was inaugurated in 1999, was built according to plans created in the office of the late architect Mocha Oren.

The building includes 3 floors of underground parking, above which are 2 commercial floors, 4 office floors in the eastern and western wings, and another 5 office floors (which were to be used as a hotel). At the heart of the building is a central space that rises to a height of 4 floors and above it is a roof of windows, through which the interior space is illuminated. Later, the municipality was criticized for allowing the developers to convert the wing intended for the hotel into offices, in violation of the building permit. The entrance to the building is a wide road on the eastern side, connecting to Ben Gurion Boulevard. Near the plaza, to the south, is the preserved and renovated residential building of the Dick family - currently used as a branch of the Aroma chain.

The stone-clad facades feature a mix of rectangular and arched openings, a sort of modern interpretation of the eclectic style. Above the entrance to the building, above the tall window that illuminates the central space, is a large clock, similar to the one commonly installed in train stations.

Architect Moshe (Mocha) Oren

As mentioned, the City Center plans were created in the office of architect Mocha Oren, who died in 1990, before the building was inaugurated (1999). Therefore, it is reasonable to assume that his daughter, architect Anat Zohar, who also signed the permit application, was very involved in the final design of the building. Architect Moshe (Mocha) Oren immigrated from Poland and settled in Haifa. 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. 

In addition to the City Center building, public projects designed by his office in Haifa include: "Haifa Tower", the Canada Dormitory Building at the Technion, and the "Grand Canyon" shopping center. Today, the office "M. Oren Architects" continues to operate under the management of Mocha Oren's grandson.

And so, the Templar Dick family's department store, which provided all the needs of the residents of the German colony and the Jewish settlers in the area, after being transformed into movie theaters for over four decades, was transformed back into a commercial center in the form of City Center.

Thanks

My thanks are hereby extended to Ms. Amira Kehat, from the Haifa History Association, an expert on Haifa architecture and its architects, for the information about the Dick family home. Also, thanks to my friend, architect Shmuel Gelbhart, for his comment on the days of the Carmel Ganim cinemas in the place. Finally, I thank my friend Yoram Katz, for his comprehensive book on "Haifa's Neighborhood Cinemas", from which I derived the information about the "Carmel Ganim" cinemas that existed in the Dick complex.

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