The Blue Condominium of Exarcheia, Modernist apartment building in Exarcheia, Greece
The Blue Condominium stands at the corner of Arachovis and Themistokleous Streets, next to Exarcheia square. It is really two independent six-floor buildings joined at the top floor, with two entry halls, concierge desks, corridors, staircases and a laundry. A meeting room on the top floor was later divided into seven apartments, raising the total from 32 to 39.
The Blue Condominium was built in 1932–1933 for the Antanopoulos family to designs by architect Kyriakos Panagiotakos, on the corner of Arachovis and Themistokleous Streets. Under the Metaxas dictatorship and during World War II it housed the counterintelligence organization "Midas 614" and the staff of officer Ioannis Tsigantes. During the Dekemvriana, ELAS fighters tried three times to blow up the building.
The building gained recognition from Le Corbusier when he visited Athens for the International Congress of Modern Architecture. This acknowledgment helped establish it as an important example of contemporary design in the city.
The building stands at the corner of Arachovis and Themistokleous Streets, next to Exarcheia square, so it is easy to find on foot. It is a private residence: the two entrance halls, corridors and staircases serve residents, and the apartments and roof are not open to visitors. The exterior can be viewed from the street at any time.
The building's original dark blue facade, chosen by painter Spyros Papaloukas, faded over the decades and was repainted white in the 2000s. The ground floor once housed the café "Floral", and the interior of the 1957 film The Jealous Cat, starring Vasilis Logothetidis, was shot inside the building.
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