Wherever I go I always keep my eye open for historically preserved buildings. I spotted the Schiff House (Beit Schiff) a few weeks ago on the corner of Herzl and Lillienblum, Tel-Aviv. The Israel Discount Bank Tower does dwarf it, however the care with which the building was preserved and restored to a museum lends itself to a worthwhile visit.
HerzLillienblum, The Museum of Banking and Tel-Aviv Nostalia (maybe they could have picked a more creative name) opened its doors in 2009 in Tel-Aviv’s centennial year. The tours are adapted to a variety of audiences: focusing on history or economy and those that combine the two. I went to the later in Hebrew, because it was the closest available tour.
Originally built as a residence for Olga and Izik Frank – one of the pioneers of Ahuzat Bayit (Tel-Aviv homestead). The house was renovated in 1925 by architect Yosef Berlin and engineer Richard Pasowsky in an expressive Neoclassical style. It later housed a hotel, a bank, a barbershop and even a sausage factory.
I was mostly interested in the phenomenal restoration of the exterior as well as interior by architect Amnon Bar-On. There are several examples of spectacular floor tile work.
And beautiful wall covering borders.
If you look carefully you may see the birds.
Architectural detailing:
Out of the museum’s three stories the first floor was designated as a replica of the past including the first branch reconstructed using photographs and veterans’ accounts.
Authentic items from 1930 to 1940. Here is an example of a FACIT machine – one of the first calculators:
The second floor is supposed to represent modern banking.
Inside an ATM machine:
How easily cheques can be printed, a trading room – I still left confused. I was there to see the tiles:
And the third floor is supposed to represent the future of banking – I got lost in all the pyrotechnics.
Here is an example of wall restoration:
and preservation:
The museum is an interactive hands-on experience with films and clips which makes the hour and a half tour seem too short. Our guide was informative, polite and very efficient (I think I often held him up with all my shooting).
Tours need to be reserved: 1-700-55-8000
All images and text copyright Judy Weiss. All rights reserved.
