On paper, the seaside square known as “Kikar Hasha’ot Hayafot” should have been bustling with passersby all day long. After all, it is situated next to one of Tel Aviv’s most popular attractions – its iconic beach esplanade. In practice, though, this elevated plaza has been abandoned for decades now, standing as a vestige of a grandiose plan that never came to fruition.
By: Omri Westmark
Date: 00:11 28.06.24
Last Update: 00:13 28.06.24
During the Ottoman era, Jaffa was a walled, overcrowded city with Arabs and Jews living side by side. As life throughout town became increasingly challenging, its walls were demolished and several neighborhoods were founded around the historic core in the late 19th century. Among them was Manshiya, a predominantly Arab neighborhood, wedged between Old Jaffa and the nascent city of Tel Aviv.
When Israel’s Independence War (known also as 1948 Palestine war) broke out, Manshiya became a battleground between the newly established State of Israel and Palestinian Arabs. In the wake of this conflict, large portion of the neighborhood was ravaged while all of its Arab residents were displaced. Soon thereafter, the extant homes were settled by Jews from neighboring towns, particularly those who didn’t have the means to live elsewhere.
In the late 1960’s, much of Manshiya was razed to the ground to make way for Tel Aviv’s new central business district, originally envisioned as a long strip of skyscrapers from Rotschild Boulevard to the seafront.
The extensive debris from the former houses was then dumped across the nearby beach, where it stood for years before being covered by lawns and walkways, and rebranded as “Charles Clore Park”.
It was also during this time that the first segment of Tel Aviv’s CBD, aka the Textile Complex, saw the day of light. Originally designed by architects Amnon Niv and Amnon Schwartz, this cluster of six seaside office buildings was constructed piecemeal, from 1972 to 1998.
The entrance to the elevated square
photography by: Omri Westmark
photography by: Omri Westmark
photography by: Omri Westmark
photography by: Omri Westmark
photography by: Omri Westmark
photography by: Omri Westmark
photography by: Omri Westmark
Public opposition to the intended large-scale land seizures throughout the adjacent Neve Tzedek neighborhood led authorities to rescind their initial CBD plan, leaving the Textile Complex as an isolated group of office buildings amid an otherwise residential area.
The centerpiece of this now lone complex was supposed to be “Manshiya Square”, better known today as Kikar Hasha’ot Hayafot (Translasted from Hebrew as “The Square of the Beautiful Hours”). Erected in 1978 atop a parking lot between an office building and a hotel, the raised plaza featured a series of terraces, footpaths, fountains, lookouts and even an open-air amphitheater overlooking the Mediterranean Sea.
According to the architects, the reason for the square’s upper positions stems mostly from the presence of groundwater below. Constructing an underground car park under these circumstances entails a hefty price tag, something which relegated the square to a mere roof.
Whether it is the many setbacks that rendered the original plan obsolete, the limited accessibility from the street level or a combination of both, the square failed miserably from the outset. Left abandoned shortly after its completion, it has since undergone a gradual process of decay.
Visitor access to the plaza is restricted due to safety concerns for much of the year. If you’re fortunate enough to visit when the gate is open, simply take the spiral stairway in front of the park to explore the city’s least-known square.
photography by: Omri Westmark
photography by: Omri Westmark
photography by: Omri Westmark
photography by: Omri Westmark
photography by: Omri Westmark
The car park underneath the square
photography by: Omri Westmark
