Bat Galim Casino, Ruined entertainment building on the Mediterranean coast in Bat Galim, Haifa, Israel
Bat Galim Casino is a ruined concrete skeleton at the end of Aaron Rosenfeld Pier in Haifa's Bat Galim neighbourhood, not a casino. The original 1930s building, planned by Alfred Goldberger, had columns set in the sea, a glass floor through which waves could be seen, a ground-floor changing room for the pool, a first-floor dance and events hall, a second-floor dining balcony overlooking it, and a paved roof for events. It was demolished during renovation and replaced by a similar but not identical concrete frame, left unfinished after the developer's bankruptcy.
In 1932 the Bat Galim development committee tendered a seaside casino; Peсах Bunshtein won it and Alfred Goldberger designed the complex, licensed in May 1934. It opened in the 1930s with a restaurant, dance hall, Olympic pool and regulated beach. Reuven Bunshtein managed it under the British Mandate, hosting artists such as Josephine Baker and drawing Mandate officials and underground members. After 1948 it passed to the Lex family as a cinema, was bought by the Haifa Workers Council in 1968, abandoned in the 1970s, and demolished in the 1990s for a concrete shell that remains unfinished.
International performers once graced this venue, drawing audiences from across the region to its dining and dancing halls. The building functioned as a social gathering place where different communities came together for entertainment and leisure.
The structure stands at Margolin Pier 1, conveniently near Bat Galim railway station and the lower terminal of the Haifa Cable Car. The waterfront location makes it easily accessible for visitors exploring the coastal area.
The glass floor was imported by Aharon Rosenfeld, a relative of Pesach Bunshtein, and let diners watch waves strike the beach beneath them. The building was demolished during renovation and replaced by a concrete skeleton, unfinished after the developer's bankruptcy. In 2018 the University of Haifa negotiated to buy it for a reported 28 million shekels.
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