construction – Page 2 – The Real Jerusalem Streets

Jerusalem under Corona Going Up

November 1, 2020November 1, 2020Sharon A

For months I stayed close to home, so when I ventured out it was a shock.

In Jerusalem, Israel, walking in the park and nature areas had been a daily relief from COVID-19 limitations. But seeing what had been done to the Jerusalem streets in my absence was amazing.

Some locations recently renovated have become popular out door spaces.

With the announcement of the renovation, expansion, and renaming of the Jerusalem International Conference Center for Shimon Peres, it was time to go again see what was happening.

It was exciting to see new stairs leading up to where the old parking lot was located. The past years access has been difficult with so many changes in the infrastructure. Every time you came for an event, there was a new traffic pattern and the old stairs were gone.

Jerusalem of old is going and the new is going down and up and up.

The old Kraft Stadium has gone down, just down as seen from the street.

But the housing across the road has gone up and up.

This new Abba Eban Street was one of the first in the neighborhood.

The old Foreign Ministry campus is now a luxury housing project going up.

The bollards are up on the new sidewalk in front the Netanyahu house.

But business in the area is down. This red antique van, parked near Balfour Street for a very long time, was in front of a closed restaurant.

The restaurants and bars are closed, but the bakery is open with patrons waiting outside at a distance, and many food places are selling take out.

Not so easy for a tailor to social distance and survive financially.

But walk up the street and there are new traffic lights and construction.

First time I saw a worker cutting stones on the spot.

The street by the Ohel Nechama Synagogue on the way to the Jerusalem Theater is being redone.

The Jerusalem Theater looks the same, however, it is closed. I just missed a dance class which took place on the plaza outside in front.

This is the new footpath and view from the Jerusalem Theater plaza.

The footpath leads to the new parking lot for the theatre. Seems the builders added a couple of extra floors and now construction has stopped and the action has moved to the court room.

The area around the Jerusalem Theater is very different. Be warned the first time you go to give yourself extra time to figure out which direction is up or down or around.

The Museum of Islamic Art, as are the other museums, is closed and in financial trouble with no visitors. An auction of 200 items from the private museum’s storerooms was halted due to negative publicity.

But there should be more concern for the small business owner who can’t legally open their doors.

Walking around the Jerusalem streets, building after building is going up.

Bus stops have been moved, streets were redone with commercial parking.

The construction fence is gone, and now there’s a new theater in Liberty Bell Park near the rollerblading skating rink and new parking lot.

New seating areas with wooden benches and shade grace more Jerusalem streets since the novel coronavirus crippled the tourism industry.

New paths with fancy wood garbage bins have been installed in Gan Sacher, Sacher Park, along with lots of new landscaping.

But walking around Jerusalem, it was good to see some of the familiar sites.

The stairs in Yemin Moshe look the same as before the novel coronavirus.

And the Lion Fountain was back on! No children were splashing and cooling in the water as in past years, but the big lion had the same one drop drip from his chin as before.

So much had changed on the Jerusalem streets over the spring and summer.

The Tower of David is closed to the public for a major renovation. I will share that big project next time. Meanwhile, I will end with a clip from the King David Night and Light Show. Can’t wait to see what they do next!

Hope to be able to share the real Jerusalem streets with you in person soon.

Jerusalem Building Up and Out of Sight

June 26, 2019Sharon A

I am a Stephen Harper fan.

When he was the Prime Minister of Canada, I admired his strong support for Israel.

In 2014, when he paid an official visit to Jerusalem, Israel, with his wife Laureen,

I arrived so early that only a cat was wandering around with me.

I don’t remember what Harper’s remark was that got the Israeli Prime Minister laughing.

But thanks to Stephen Harper’s inspiring pro-Israel speech at the Shurat Hadin conference, I now have a great quote to share along with these photos I have been saving.

Near the conclusion of his speech which came out strongly against BDS, Harper said of Israel, “Built from nothing to be one of the most successful countries on earth.”

While not many people are attending all the multiple conferences and various leadership meetings this week, it is hard to avoid the building going on in Jerusalem, Israel.

Construction sites around Jerusalem are similar to this one. First, earth-moving equipment digs down, down into the ground.

Look up and you will see a crane.

Cranes tower high above Jerusalem buildings.

This huge hole in the ground is to be the new Shaare Zedek Hospital building.

An underground radiotherapy specialty unit is to rise on this site.

These cranes, a lovely sight at night, are busy all day and late into the night, working on the National Library.

Earth moving equipment is now shoveling the huge pile of stones. The Knesset across the road is seen clearly in this image.

A photo of the new library is on the construction fence.

It is finally up to ground level and looks like this.

While there are still some of the most valuable pieces of real estate in the world in disrepair,

other locations have buildings going up to new proportions. This housing complex is being built on the old Shneller grounds in Geula.

On the day this was taken a worker fell and was transported to hospital by ambulance. Building safety is a serious issue.

The old Moment Cafe was hit by a suicide bomber in 2002 and the memorial is visible in this construction fence. In its last restaurant life, it was the site of Cafe de Paris.

Now construction has begun on luxury apartment units.

In one peephole was the image of the future building.

This is an image of how that corner looked in the past, an empty lot in old Jerusalem.

And the old Jerusalem train station has been fixed up as a tourist attraction.

It is now called, Takhana Rishona, or First Station, note this piece of land and the tree.

The Jerusalem cable car line is to be located at First Station.

This cable car line is proposed to take thousands of visitors to the Old City.

No more sitting on buses in traffic? We will see if and when.

In the shopping area of Talpiot, these red shelters were built for passers-by to have a bite to eat,

or perhaps to hang out while someone else shops.

Graffiti has been added in multiple locations to brighten up Talpiot.

But with all the building around Jerusalem, it is the Jerusalem Gateway project which is designed to bring the biggest change.

Roads are closed and traffic has been redirected at the entrance to Jerusalem.

Construction is ongoing and the area looks different every time I see it.

The municipality published images of the new court buildings to be built along Jaffa Road.

With the housing and new business district to be built at the entrance to Jerusalem, the skyline of Jerusalem in the future will look very different than in the past.

At least the colorful umbrellas are again a familiar sight over Kikar HaMusica, Music Square.

The Jerusalem Chord Bridge glows with lights at night.

Lights or flags, Jerusalem is going up and up and out of sight.

Even the Old City walls have a new-age ‘I Love Jerusalem’ sign.

As he ended his speech Stephen Harper said he admired the building and what had been accomplished in Israel in seven decades.

It is a wonder with all the outside and inside forces working against Israel, that so much has been built.

So much is happening on these Jerusalem streets.

Look down. Look up.

Building for the future while preserving the past.

What’s New in Jerusalem?

January 23, 2019Sharon A

I am always looking for something new to share.

Jerusalem, Israel has new buildings towering over the old.

These old houses are in Nachlaot near the Machane Yehuda Market, the shuk.

The new tower on Jaffa Road rises above in the distance.

This photo looking towards the Old City was taken from the center of town.

A new view for me, how about you?

Look closely on the top right, after the snow and rain, the air was clear enough to see Jordan.

The official opening ceremony for the new Ramon Airport outside of Eilat was held this week. The airport control tower was already visible from the road in January 2016.

I have shared many photos of construction at the new WeWork building on King George Street.

WeWork opened in October as announced and has been busy since.

But a block away on King George Street another landmark building has also been under construction.

In January 2016, the old Knesset building on King George Street began renovations.

When panels went up in May 2016, people stopped to look at the historical scenes depicted on them.

On the right, a sign announced the future Knesset Museum.

The large tarp with larger than life Golda covering the building was removed. The panels have faded. However, the new Knesset Museum is far from completion.

The park off of Rachel Imenu Street has been hidden behind construction fencing for a while.

This week it was announced what was happening behind those walls.

On the surface it does not look impressive, but underground, an historic grotto was found.

Years ago a simple playground was located near the entrance to the Liberty Bell Park. It was demolished and the spot left vacant. Now after weeks of construction, Mayor Moshe Lion dedicated the new “Royal Playground” designed by Sue Ela.

The garden at Beit Hanasi, the Israeli President’s residence, looked green and new in the midday sun.

Inside the main hall baskets of fresh fruits decorated the table for a Tu Bishvat seder.

Invited guests came from the agriculture and farming communities throughout Israel.

In the center of the hall was a display of ‘Seeds of Heritage’ ceramic plates by artist Orna Tamir Shestovich, with designs of plants and fruits of Israel.

The seder included four glasses of wine, from red to white, and samples of the Biblical “Seven Species” connected to the land of Israel.

Getting away towards the Talpiot neighborhood, new colorful paintings have appeared on the sides of buildings.

Along the main road across from Hadar Mall is a red structure designed as an outdoor eating area,

and another one nearby for playing games.

These flags outside Beit Hanasi are not new.

However, these near the Prime Minister’s Residence are new. Last week workers were putting up new light poles from which these banners are hung. The Israeli and Jerusalem flags are the same, but note that the PM state flags are white with a blue symbol, the Presidential ones the opposite.

The sun rises over quiet Zion Square to start a new day.

In the afternoon after the snow and rain had cleared, the sky was bright blue. The strong light from the sun created reflections of palm trees on the walls of Old City.

New flowers were forming in Jerusalem gardens and parks.

As usual a new demonstration was held near the Prime Minister’s residence.

And as usual, Jerusalem cats will pose for photos, or rather will stare you down in the warm sun and not be bothered enough to move. Nothing new in that.

So much more old and new on the Jerusalem streets.

So much more happening to share next time.