Tel Aviv Photo Gallery - White City

Founded in 1909, Tel Aviv is a fairly new city. They embarked on a large city-building campaign based on Sir Patrick Geddes' design and White City was part of that when it was built in the 1930s and 40s. Some 4000 buildings here were built in Bauhaus style, which earned it UNESCO World Heritage status in 2003. Known for its clean lines, curvatures, and simple white geometry, they were designed by Jewish architects who fled Europe. A good way to explore these Bauhaus residential buildings is to walk along the leafy Rothschild Boulevard and the side streets leading to it. At King Albert Square, which was named after the Belgian king, Pagoda House has both Western and Oriental elements. Designed by Alexander Levy in 1925, the Eclectic style building has one of the city's first elevators. It didn't take too long to walk along the length of Rothschild Boulevard. Veering west towards the Carmel Market, I came across 2 quaint alleys that lead off from the busy King George Street. Simta Plonit has a statue of a lion at the end, bought by a businessman who tried to name these alleys after himself and his wife. But the city wouldn't let that happen, and named these alleys 'anonymous' and 'nameless'. Bialik Square was home to many wealthy folks from Europe. At the small traffic circle is the former city hall, which was intended to be a hotel but the city rented it in 1924 and stayed until 1965. The area has plenty of interesting architecture. My architecture tour would end further north at Dizengoff Circle, which is surrounded by almost identical buildings with curved balconies. Opened in 1938, this is traditionally the centre of White City.