Hatachana: The Old Train Station - TLVSpot.com

By Evgeniy Averboukh
•
24 Jul, 2012
•

Hatachana an old train station on the Jaffa - Jerusalem line, located between the sea and Neve Zedek , operated from 1892 to 1948. The post Hatachana: The Old Train Station appeared first on Tel Aviv Photography Diary - TLVSpot.com. - Tel Aviv Photography Diary - TLVSpot.com - Same place, different story

Hatachana: The Old Train Station

A train station on the Jaffa-Jerusalem line, located between the sea shore and the Neve Zedek neighborhood, operated from 1892 to 1948. This was the first railway line between Little Asia and Egypt and the first means of transportation to replace the camel as the mode of transport for heavy loads taken over long distances.

The idea to establish this railway was first proposed in the 1830’s by Moshe Montefiore, who was interested in developing modern industry in the Land of Israel, but ran into difficulties in relation to the transport of machinery and raw materials.

At the end of a long process that entailed a combination of entrepreneurship, vision and international politics, in 1888 Turkish Sultan Abed el-Hamid granted the license to Yossef Navon, who was able to raise the necessary capital from Europe in order to to lay the tracks and build the stations.

It took two years to execute the immense railway construction project, and its completion heralded the beginning of the age of modern transportation in the Land of Israel.
Today, the train station complex sprawls over some 20 hectares (49 acres) and includes22 buildings from various periods, restored at a highly detailed level, totaling a built area of some 5,500 m².

The Tachana (“Station”) complex includes, among others, the historic train station, the freight terminal, Templar Hugo Wieland’s building materials and tile factory and the Wieland family’s home – “Villa Wieland”.

The Tel-Aviv-Jaffa Municipality developed and rejuvenated the complex as one of the city’s most charming spots, through urban planning company Ezra and Bitzaron and the Tachana Group, which includes Vitania Ltd. and Florentine A.M. Assets and Investments (2005) Ltd. Special emphasis was put on the restoration of the historic buildings’ original designs and on the open public area that was created between the restored buildings.

This is the main train station building.

The Jaffa train station building was built in 1892 as part of the first railway line between Jaffa and Jerusalem. The start of its operation marked the beginning of the age of modern transportation in the Land of
Israel.

Until the eve of WWI in 1914, the station and railway were operated by a French company that acquired the license granted
by Turkish Sultan Abed el-Hamid to developer Yossef Navon in 1888.

From the left side: Red House.

This typical Arab home got its name from the red plaster used on its walls. This building was probably built before the Wieland villa (which was built in 1902) as part of the Menashiya neighborhood, adjacent to the train station complex. The building serves as an example of the typical building style in the Jaffa area and its two storey version is very common.

The building consisted of one large showroom. Concrete products produced by the Wieland factory were used extensively, including prefabricated posts made of links, the concrete base of the iron chimney, concrete roofing tiles and three different types of patterned floor tiles.