Windows of the past

Among the cranes, trains and automobiles of downtown Jerusalem, a peaceful refrain from the city’s stressful traffic and speed of development lies quietly hidden, telling a Zionist tale of architecture, open and welcoming to all her residents and visitors.

Inside a 130-year-old, high-ceilinged and open-spaced building that once served as a residence for teachers of the Eliyan school (since replaced by the Clal Building), where aspiring Jerusalem builders and artists studied masonry, metalworks and carpentry from the late 19th century until 1970, local Jerusalemite artist and photographer Yoram Amir of Nachlaot has created a refuge for architectural creativity that would otherwise be lost as gentrification creatively destroys much of the city’s old and forgotten beauty.

A bit down the road from the Clal Building and two turns off Yaffo Street, through alleys most passersby may simply walk past without a thought, The Tower and Story Museum and Robbers of Jerusalem Gallery (the second part of the name a play on words in Hebrew, also meaning “Pirates”) lay withdrawn from the main light rail thoroughfare and hidden under the towering Windows of Jerusalem residential complex.

A native of the city, Amir describes Jerusalem with the smooth comfort of a story teller, speaking about experiences as much as history. “When we were kids we learned about the towers and walls built during the British mandate in order to protect Jewish settlement. Tower and Story is a comment on our relationship between appropriate construction and Zionism and tells a Jerusalem story as well.”

The entire second floor of the museum is as much an ode to Jerusalem’s past as a call to protect its future. Amir has created a monument to arched grand and modest window frames once found throughout the city. Amir describes the city’s development with an air of reminiscence. It’s population, he said, was growing, and with it the need for quick expansion, including the construction of large luxury apartment complexes. As older buildings were torn down the window frames, which he describes as “works of art”, were being discarded as garbage.

Beginning with one frame in 2003, Amir has gathered discarded relics from over 200 Jerusalem buildings and homes and considers their protection a mandate. Various frames are mounted in different rooms throughout the museum and Amir writes next to them, on the walls, historical information, such as the streets they once looked upon.

Amir considers the display of salvaged frames, as well as photographs he has taken (available for viewing or purchase in his downstairs gallery) a testament to the rift existing between “inspired and destroyed architecture” and the city’s development. “The disrespect [of the frames and old architecture] is a lack of Zionism,” Amir said. “They’re not chasing us anymore,” he adds, describing the nation’s enemies and Jerusalem’s once fast and security-influenced nature of architecture. “Let’s think twice about how and where we build.”

Amir is offering his space as a meeting place for influential members of the city in order to encourage preservation and consideration as the city grows. American academics and artists who are interested in Jerusalem’s rich past and cultural life have visited the museum as well as Israeli students. Amir stresses that he is open to all who wish to come.

The museum has an open-air sitting area where visitors can enjoy a cup of Amir’s coffee, read or write and, he hopes, contemplate how the nation’s largest city should build as it continues to grow.

The museum is open to the public by appointment and for groups, and Amir asks only for a symbolic donation. Wine and refreshments can be arranged.

Yoram Amir: 052 240 0287

The Tower and Floor Museum: 93 Yaffo St.