King George Street (Jerusalem)
King George Street (Hebrew: רחוב המלך ג׳ורג׳, Rehov ha-Melekh Jorj, Arabic: شارع الملك جورج Shara'a al-Malik Jurj) is a street in central Jerusalem which joins Ben Yehuda Street and Jaffa Road to form the Downtown Triangle central business district.[1] The street was named in honour of King George V on December 9, 1924.[2]
History
King George Street was dedicated in honour of the seventh anniversary of the British conquest of Jerusalem under General Allenby. The inauguration took place in 1924,[3] in the presence of Sir Herbert Samuel, the High Commissioner for Palestine, Sir Ronald Storrs, the military governor of Jerusalem,[4] and Raghib al-Nashashibi, the Arab mayor of Jerusalem.[5]
Jerusalem's first traffic light was installed at the intersection of King George Street and Jaffa Road.[6] In 1950–1966, the Knesset, Israel's parliament, met at Beit Froumine on King George Street. It was used by Israel's first five governments, until the Knesset moved to a permanent building in Givat Ram.[7]
Until the advent of the Jerusalem Light Rail, King George Street was one of two Jerusalem streets with a pedestrian scramble; the other is Kikar HaShabbat.
Landmarks
- Great Synagogue and Heichal Shlomo
- Jewish Agency for Israel
- Beit HaMa'alot ("elevator house"), 1935 highrise building with elevator, architects Alexander Friedman and Meir Rubin
- Beit Avi Chai culture centre (Hebrew website: [2])
- The National Institutions House
- Independence Park
- Shiber Pit, the former Menorah Garden - the small park with the bronze horse statue at the junction with Ben Yehuda Street.[8]
See also
References
- ^ Neighborhoods in brief
- ^ About King George Street
- ^ A Walk Across Jerusalem History, Haaretz
- ^ Sir Ronald Storrs and Zion: The Dream That Turned into a Nightmare
- ^ King George Street in Jerusalem
- ^ Haman's Hat: Life in the Jerusalem Triangle
- ^ Beit Froumine
- ^ Aviva Bar-Am, WALKING TOUR: BY GEORGE!, in Jerusalem Post, 25 December 2008 [1]
Gallery
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Commemorative plaque on King George Street -
Dedication of the street in 1924 -
Construction of high-rise building on King George Street, 1940 -
The carillon of the shopping center at the beginning of the street
31°46.892′N 35°12.988′E / 31.781533°N 35.216467°E
