Haifa Old Commercial Centre, Historical commercial district in downtown Haifa, Israel.
Haifa Old Commercial Centre consists of six three-story buildings with retail spaces on the ground level and residential apartments featuring decorated balconies on the upper floors. The buildings show a clear separation between commercial and residential functions.
The land was bought in 1921–1922 by the Haifa businessman Shabtai Levi and partners through the Palestine Land Development Company, with Barclays financing, for 26,000 Palestine pounds. An international competition in 1923 chose Fritz Kornberg's second-prize plan over Erich Mendelsohn and Richard Neutra's winning entry. Sollel Boneh built the centre, completed in 1927; the 1933 drying of the sea for Haifa port pushed the shoreline away and led to a newer commercial centre near the Bankim Street.
The name "Old" was added after a newer commercial centre opened near the Bankim Street area in the 1930s. Nahum Dubrin Street later housed the "Turkish Market", which closed in the early 2000s. The complex was a Jewish enclave in the largely Arab Lower City, and during the 1929 riots it was attacked on 26 August and defended by a few residents until British police arrived.
The centre lies between Derech Atzmaut and Natanzon Street, with the internal streets Nahum Dovrin, Moshe Aharon, Natan and Kehilat Saloniki running perpendicular to the coast. The Turkish Market in Nahum Dovrin Street closed in the early 2000s. The site is a Jewish enclave in the largely Arab Lower City, so check opening hours of individual businesses before crossing town.
The complex was the first area in Haifa planned from the outset for commerce, and its construction was financed largely by the American Jew Max Shulman, who covered 75% of the building costs and also the loan repayment of the Land Development Company. The centre was built by Solel Boneh and completed in 1927.
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