Shalom Meir Tower

Shalom Meir Tower (Hebrew: מגדל שלום מאיר‎, Migdal Shalom Meir; commonly known as Migdal Shalom, Hebrew: מגדל שלום‎) is an office tower in Tel Aviv, Israel. It was Israel's first skyscraper.

Shalom Meir Tower
מגדל שלום מאיר
General information
StatusComplete
TypeGovernment, Commercial, Residential
Location Tel Aviv, Israel
Coordinates32°3′50.47″N 34°46′11.18″E
Construction started1963
Opening1965
Height
Roof120 to 130 m (390 to 430 ft)
Technical details
Floor count34
Design and construction
ArchitectYitzhak Pearlstein, Gideon Ziv, Meir Levy
Structural engineerEliezer Dushnitzky

Overview

Shalom Meir Towner was designed by architects Yitzhak Pearlstein, Gideon Ziv, and Meir Levy. Migdal Shalom has 34 floors and stands at a height of 120–130 m.[1][2] 50,000 cubic meters of concrete, 4,000 tons of steel, 35 kilometers of water pipes, and 500 kilometres of wiring were used in the tower. When its construction was completed in 1965, it was the tallest building in the Middle East and rivaled the tallest buildings in Europe in height.

History
Migdal Shalom under construction, July 1964
Shalom Tower under construction, April 1965

The tower was built on the site of the Herzliya Hebrew High School, better known as Herzliya Gymnasium. The school's architecturally and historically significant structure was razed and the school relocated in order to build the tower in 1962. This decision was later regretted and the contour of the Herzliya Gymnasium became the emblem of the Society for Preservation of Israel Heritage Sites (SPIHS).[3]

Construction was carried out by the Meir Brothers, Moshe, Mordechai and Menachem Meir, who named it after their father, Reb Shalom-Shachna Meir, born in Sanok in Galicia.[4] Shalom-Shachna Meir married the daughter of a rich manufacturer from the Romanian region of Moldova, where he lived until 1920, becoming a successful businessman as well as a leader of the local Zionists.[4] In 1920 he emigrated to Ottoman Palestine where he became an important public figure in the early years of Tel Aviv, a member of the town's first city council, and one of the founders of Ramat Gan.[4]

The building has a cream hue tile facade which was created especially for the tower and was manufactured in Italy. A subway station was built under the tower block but rails were never laid and the station remains empty and disconnected from any rail system.[5]

Artwork and exhibits

The ground-floor retail promenade features a mosaic mural by the Israeli artist Nachum Gutman[6][7] facing another one by David Sharir.[8] The Shalom Tower now houses the Tel Aviv Center comprising a number of permanent and temporary exhibitions dedicated to the beginnings and development of Tel Aviv.[9]

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See also

References
  1. http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=104855
  2. http://jpress.org.il/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin_TAU.asp?From=Archive&Skin=TAUHe&BaseHref=DAV/1965/07/09&EntityId=Ar01000&ViewMode=HTML (in Hebrew)
  3. What to see on Herzl Street, birthplace of the first modern Jewish city
  4. Ascher Bit: Reb Shalom-Shachna Meir of blessed memory, translated by Jerrold Landau. On JewishGen.org, accessed 4 April 2016
  5. "Tel Aviv Light Rail Metro, Israel". Retrieved 23 December 2013.
  6. Shalom Tower Galleries: Nahum Gutman's Mosaic Wall
  7. http://mosaicartsource.wordpress.com/2007/02/17/israel-may-1995-tel-aviv-mosaic-mural/
  8. Shalom Tower Galleries: David Sharir's Mosaic Wall
  9. Shalom Tower website: Discover Tel Aviv Center
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