Greek Public Tobacco Factory, Industrial monument in Kolonos, Greece

The Greek Public Tobacco Factory occupies a square block between Lenormann, Amfiaraou, Leandrou and Creontos streets, measuring 84.20 by 87.15 metres. Four separately built wings with intermediate joints enclose a 1,100 m² atrium roofed by a glass canopy on a metal frame made by the Greek company B.I.O. A reinforced concrete frame allowed large windows on every side, needed for ventilation because damp would damage the tobacco.

The Greek state bought the 9,118 m² plot on Lenormann Street in 1925 and assigned plans to engineers Pavlos Athanasakis and Antonis Ligdopoulos in 1927. After a 1928 fire destroyed the first public tobacco factory on Aristotelous Street, construction began that year under civil engineer Nikolaos Gavalas and was completed in 1930 on a budget of 2,988,000 drachmas. The last cigarette firm, SANTE, left in 1997 after 65 years of operation.

The building's name comes from the state monopoly on tobacco processing, and the factory housed 25 cigarette manufacturers over 65 years, from Lerta to SANTE, which left in 1997. Each merchant could rent up to two warehouses in the semi-basement, where cigarette blends were prepared under state supervision to limit smuggling. The atrium, covered by a glass and metal canopy, was where tobacco was loaded and unloaded.

The building occupies the whole block between Lenormanos, Amfiaraou, Leandrou and Kreontos streets in Kolonos. Its four wings enclose a 1,100 m² atrium under a metal-framed glass canopy, where tobacco was once loaded and unloaded. Look for the large windows on every facade, fitted with external metal screens against smuggling.

From 1938, for about thirty years, a quarter of the factory was handed over to the Athens military service. The building also had its own customs office, and every window was covered on the outside with metal screens to curb tobacco smuggling.