| Safra sqare-City Hall | |
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| The old Jerusalem Municipality building was one of the four public buildings constructed in Jerusalem by the British administration. Since its erection in 1930 the city was grown tenfold and the municipality offices, which multiplied and expended accordingly, were scattered in nearby buildings and elsewhere throughout the city. These included the houses on the other side of Jaffa road that were built by the Americans at the end of the last century and were leased to the Municipality. The need for a single building that would house all the municipality offices and enable the citizen to receive all the municipal services under one roof led to the construction of the new City Hall, which was dedicated in 1993. Many offices are still located in nearby buildings of historical value that were preserved and renovated, thus saving the planners a great deal of money as well as contributing to the preservation of the city's past. On the right stands an environmental sculpture fashioned as an ancient installation for raising water, known as Archimedes Screw. The movement of the rotating screw in the narrow channel raises the water, which follows into a horizontal conduit. The planting of these trees aroused opposition at the time, since it was argued that they were not in character with Jerusalem. A spacious stone plaza at the end of which is a stone platform roofed by at iron pergola. To the left stands the Municipality building, with a copper dome rising above its top floor, that contains the city Council Hall. Next is the platform for a breathtaking view of the city’s northern neighborhoods and mount Scopus. The square – named after major contributors to the project, the Brazilian Jewish Safra family (which traces its origins to Aleppo in Syria) – is used for various assemblies and events, including street basketball competitions, known as “StreetBall”, and an annual “Hebrew Book Week” – generally held in June – a book fair in which most of Israel’s publishing houses offer their publications to the general public at reduced prices for about 10 days, from late afternoon until midnight. |
 Yafo 3 |
 02-6296000 |
 All buses heading Down Town |
 Full |
 Tourist information center :
02-629-6906
Activities hours :
Sunday to Thursday 08:30 - 15:45, Friday 08:30 - 13:00 |
 Available |
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