Jerusalem's old town hall was one of the four public buildings constructed in
Jerusalem
Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...
by the British administration during the
British Mandate.
History
When the
town hall
In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...
at the corner of Jaffa and
Mamilla streets became insufficient for the needs of the burgeoning city, the Mandatory government built a new office. It was used by the
Municipality of Jerusalem for over 60 years, from 1930 to 1993.
Construction of the building was financed by
Barclays Bank, whose offices stood in the rounded section which faces the
Old City's northwest corner.
British architect
Clifford Holliday
Albert Clifford Holliday (1897–1960) M. Arch, Dip. C.D., F.R.I.B.A., M.T.P., was a British architect and town planner who worked in several places across the British Empire, including Mandatory Palestine, Ceylon and Gibraltar, as well as in ...
designed the building. In 1972,
stained glass
Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...
windows designed by Israeli artist
Avigdor Arikha were installed in the City Council Chamber.
Gallery
File:Barclays building Jerusalem 1939.JPG, Barclay's bank, 1939
File:JerusalemMunicipalityP4190018.JPG, Entrance
File:JerusalemMunicipalityP4190014.JPG, Barclays Bank logo (BB) under a window (southeast facade)
File:JerusalemMunicipalityP4190075.JPG, Rusticated masonry and Mamluk architecture-inspired wrought iron
Wrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon content (less than 0.05%) in contrast to that of cast iron (2.1% to 4.5%), or 0.25 for low carbon "mild" steel. Wrought iron is manufactured by heating and melting high carbon cast iron in an ...
window grille
See also
*
Architecture of Israel
The architecture of Israel has been influenced by the different architectural styles of those who have inhabited the country over time, sometimes modified to suit the local climate and landscape. Byzantine churches, Crusades, Crusader castles, Is ...
*
Albert Clifford Holliday (1897–1960), British architect whose company drew the plans of the building
*
Zoltan Harmat (1900–1985), Hungarian-born Jewish architect who contributed in designing the building
References
{{reflist
Buildings and structures in Jerusalem
City and town halls in Israel
Jerusalem District