The Balconies of Bauhaus

Bauhaus building near Dizengoff Square

It turns out I am still in Tel Aviv because my container ship has been delayed until February 20th due to bad weather and port strikes.  I am really hoping that it will actually depart next week because otherwise I'm ready to just give up on the whole thing.

Fortunately, hanging out in Israel for a few more days isn't so bad since it's been a really great place to take a bit of an "unexpected" pit stop midway through my travels.  It's nice to kind of just hang out and relax without feeling like I have to constantly be running around.  Even though it's not really warm enough to swim, I have been able to go walking on the beach, wandering around town and just hanging out at the house.

Bauhaus building in Tel Aviv

On the first Friday of February, about a week after I initially arrived in Tel Aviv, I took a really interesting tour around the central part of the city near the Dizengoff Center.  It was led by a woman from the Bauhaus Center who took us around the neighborhood to show us some examples of the "White City's" signature Bauhaus architecture.  Tel Aviv is nicknamed the White City precisely because of the prevalence of "The International Style" buildings that feature light-colored plaster facades, an asymmetrical design, a horizontal orientation, cubic and rounded shapes, an abundance of balconies and minimal decorations.  The style was imported into Israel from Germany by Jewish immigrants in the 1920s, '30s and '40s.  Tel Aviv has been named a UNESCO World Heritage Site because of its 4,000 Bauhaus buildings, which is the highest concentration of these modernist structures of any city in the world.

Dizengoff Square, 1934-1939
Courtesy: Library of Congress (Public Domain)

The tour started at the Bauhaus Center, which is right down the street from Dizengoff Square, and went past numerous apartment buildings built in this style, including some that looked very similar to modern cruise ships in design.  Coincidentally, one of the people on the tour actually lived in an apartment building that we walked past and discussed.  We also got to see how the style progressed through the past few decades and is still influencing the design of buildings in the present day.  Coming out of the residential neighborhood, we entered Dizengoff Square, which was designed by architect Genia Averbuch in 1934 around a circular roundabout.  Most of the original buildings in the square were designed in the Bauhaus style, including a famous old cinema that is now a boutique hotel.  This photograph taken between 1934 and 1939 shows what the circle looked like back when it was first created.

Dizengoff Square, 2012

In 1978, due to major traffic congestion, the area was redesigned into the split-level configuration with pedestrian overpasses and traffic flowing below that still exists today.  In the center of elevated plaza is a landmark kinetic sculpture fountain that was added in 1986 and is currently being restored.  Unfortunately, this layout is neither very pedestrian-friendly nor that aesthetically pleasing as you can see by the modern-day photos.  On the tour, our guide told us that after putting it to a public vote, the city has decided to bring take down the pedestrian bridges and restore the square to its original design.  Traffic and a brand new parking lot will be diverted to underground.  Obviously it is going to probably take at least a decade for the work to be completed.

Bauhaus Center tour

To finish the tour, we walked to a residential neighborhood on the other side of the square where we got to see some Bauhaus buildings that had been restored and renovated within the past few years.  Apparently there is a big movement now to provide financing help for restoration work since many of these old buildings have fallen into disrepair due to environmental wear and tear.  At the end, we wound up back at the Bauhaus Center where I went up to the exhibition room that features photographs and descriptions of other buildings around the city that have been recently rehabbed.  The tour was definitely an interesting way to see an important part of the city that I probably wouldn't have known about otherwise.  Here is some more information for anyone who might be interested: Bauhaus Tour.

Cinema Hotel interior

After leaving the center, I walked back over to Dizengoff Square and went inside the Cinema Hotel, which was just converted into a hotel a few years ago by the family of the cinema's original owners.  The architect obviously gutted most of the interior, but left the original lobby and staircase still standing.  All along the walls are artifacts and memorabilia from the hotel's days as a theater.  There are also old photographs showing what it looked like before closing for business in the 1990s.  It is really nice to see that this historic building was able to be repurposed instead of just torn down.

Beach in Herzliya at sunset

When I left the hotel, I grabbed something to eat and then decided to go down to the beach for a little while until I had to catch my bus back to Herzliya.  Since it was Friday afternoon and the start of Shabbat, the last public bus was scheduled to leave at about 4:30pm.  I got to the bus stop shortly after 4:00pm, but I started to get nervous when I didn't see any buses coming for more than 15 minutes.  I saw the buses I needed going in the opposite direction and then disappearing from the electronic timetable next to the bus stop so I started to worry that I was standing on the wrong side of the street.  Luckily there were other people also waiting so I knew I wasn't the only one in the same situation.  Finally at about 4:25pm, a bus pulled up and I was able to board it to go home.  If I had missed the bus, I think I would have been able to take a taxi, but it would have been pretty expensive.

For the rest of the weekend, I just hung out near Herzliya, going to the beach and taking short walks.  Since there is no public transportation on Saturdays, there is not much you can do if you don't have a car.  Again, it was kind of nice to just take it easy and not feel any pressure to do anything special.  I guess everyone needs that after traveling around for so long.