This is the Athens of 100 years ago. This is the Athens before over population and concrete apartments entered the city. Alot of buildings (Plaka etc) did remain, but for the most part they have been crowded out in the name of "modernizing" the city.... Take a stroll, of the untouched Athens, the way it use to be.....


*All pics from an American, who made a great site and fell in love with Athens. His site: www.athensguide.com


http://www.athensguide.com/oldcity/panorama.jpg

http://www.athensguide.com/oldcity/aeolisstreet.jpg

http://www.athensguide.com/oldcity/aeolisstreet2.jpg

http://www.athensguide.com/oldcity/athinasstreet.jpg

http://www.athensguide.com/oldcity/alisida.jpg

http://www.athensguide.com/oldcity/athinasstreet2.jpg

http://www.athensguide.com/oldcity/ermoustreet.jpg

http://www.athensguide.com/oldcity/grandebretagne.jpg

http://www.athensguide.com/oldcity/hadriansarch.jpg

http://www.athensguide.com/oldcity/kifissia.jpg

http://www.athensguide.com/oldcity/omonia.jpg

http://www.athensguide.com/oldcity/omonia2.jpg

http://www.athensguide.com/oldcity/panorama2.jpg

http://www.athensguide.com/oldcity/phileninon.jpg

http://www.athensguide.com/oldcity/stadioustreet.jpg

http://www.athensguide.com/oldcity/syntagma.jpg

http://www.athensguide.com/oldcity/syntagma2.jpg

http://www.athensguide.com/oldcity/university.jpg

It's a shame the city lose it's old buildings in the name of modernity,if this hadn't happened,Athens would be much more interesting to visit.

It looked civilized as opposed to the middle-eastern-like, dirty, chaotic place it is now.

It looked civilized as opposed to the middle-eastern-like, dirty, chaotic place it is now.

Yea it looked beutiful, and it looks good now. It is clean, nice, today. You might be the new Anti-Greek troll on the forum. Athens today is a beutiful European city and if you want proof just chack all the Athens threads to see pictures of Athens, that is if you want to know the truth and not just be the ignorant fool you have made yourself out to be.

Another site is www.athens-today.com made by an ITALIAN who loves Athens.

We did the same with Istanbul :/ I didn't know that you did the same with Athens. I see your old pictures they are beautiful and I'm so sorry about those not anymore existing buildings :( I can understand your feeling about this.When I see such old pictures of Istanbul I want kill all the people who turned Istanbil in that what it is now!!! I also see that Athens was full of tram lines like Istanbul.We removed them also (don't ask me why no one knows the reason).Why did you remove them?I see there are some parellels between these two cities.

"In oder to build a modern city destroy old old buildings and build bigger and more modern ones,in order enlarge the street remove all tram lines and destroy squers" What a f**king mentality!!!!

Now we see that everyone who has money can build a modern city but to have this ancient atmosphere as we has maybe only 40 years ago, you may spend billions but it won't turn back :( Again I'm sorry for Istanbul,I'm sorry for Atens.These threads make me trist :(

When did they decide to destroy parts of it? Who was dumb enough to actually do that :ohno:

Most of the concrete jungle started to form after the population exchange of 1922-1923 between Greece and Turkey. Hundreds of thousands of Greek refugees moved to Greece with many of them coming to Athens. These people had to be housed overnight, there was no time for planning etc, and it is a shame, Athens was known as the Paris of the Balkans, such was its beauty.

hundreds of thousands re Alexander? Try millions file....

Cheap concrete housing dominated Athens, the exact blueprint of what not to do in a city. Unplanned and slopped together. This is what happens when big influxes of people come to such a small city in a short period of time. Athens has really beautiful parts (old and new) but it gets drowned out in between so much concrete jungle....

And it's a pity alot of buildings were destroyed for "office space" and the like.... (you can still find alot of nice buildings though! and what about preserving these buildings and building new TALLER ones for space?? argghhh)


Why in their right mind would they do this Kamp, who knows.... they destroyed a beautiful city. Only recently are we trying to reclaim it back. It almost makes we want to cry looking at these photos. It's a good thing the rest of Greece is "untouched". You won't find over populated concrete messes... but real European cities and towns and villages..... Athens DOES have nice areas, the Plaka especially.... the suburbs really I would put up against any other city.... it's the "mistakes" of the last century that makes the city so undesirable.


btw, to show you what has remained in Athens of this classical look, please visit this thread:

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=175386


A tease for what to expect in that thread:

Old
http://www.athensguide.com/oldcity/panorama.jpg

Today
http://www.athensguide.com/best/neighborhood.jpg


You will see a Athens that somewhat resembles this thread.....



Unfortunately, this is also the reality.....

old
http://www.athensguide.com/oldcity/panorama2.jpg

today
http://www.athensguide.com/acropolis/033acropolis.jpg

Cheap concrete housing dominated Athens, the exact blueprint of what not to do in a city. Unplanned and slopped together. This is what happens when big influxes of people come to such a small city in a short period of time.

Very true, very true... but unfortunately there was no other way to house these people.

Old piz are very romantic. It seems Athens changed alot. But I think it's going to a good way again. Right?

Beautiful to see cities in their original form. Its also sad that much of the old city has been altered to an unrecognisable state. Great topic BTW.

I came across this picture, and I IMMEDIATLY thought of this topic.


This is Omonia Square, in Athens.

Look at the pic, and you can clearly see the nice older buildings with roofs, and then the "new" buildings which overshadow them and at the same time, gives you an idea of what took the place of these beauties.


http://www.astynet.gr/photos/b_omonia7.jpg



It's very sad. But at least some buildings like this remain, and it's important to point them out to people..... but don't blink, because you may miss them!

Come on Christos Omonia is still a beutiful place today, as well as most of downtown Athens (Monasteraki, Plaka, Acropolis, Sitagma). It is a sad thing that many of the old buildings are gone but you are making things look to bleak.........

Nice old buildings!

I remembered this topic and decided to add a couple pictures that were given to us by gm in the Greek forum.


The building below was the famous hotel "Aktaion" ("Coastal" Hotel) located in Neon Phaleron, somewhere between the Karaiskakis and Peace and Friendship stadiums, where the big junction of Posseidonos and Kifissos Avenues is located. It was demolished, I repeat, this jewel was demolished, some time in the early 20th Century.

http://briefcase.pathfinder.gr/download/gm22633/30719/368392/0/Neon+Phaleron-+Hotel+Aktaion.jpg


And the coast:

http://briefcase.pathfinder.gr/download/gm22633/30719/368393/0/Neon+Phaleron-+The+beach.jpg



:bash:

Seems that all European cities looked better 100 years ago. Then the friggin' commieblocks came in, the notion that "building must not have details, it is to be simple" which ruined every single city in Europe.

The way I see it, by year of 1900, the pinnacle of architectural beauty was reached, then ruined and forgotten. It would have been great if European cities would be building in that style again.

I agree 100%.


It seems almost taboo to make buildings that look like this: http://briefcase.pathfinder.gr/download/gm22633/30719/368392/0/Neon+Phaleron-+Hotel+Aktaion.jpg nowadays. Why? I guess mainly for $$$ reasons. It would be more expensive than a regular looking hotel. But this architecture should come back even in NEW buildings.

Reminds me of the destruction made in Istanbul in the name of "modernity".

If someone told me "I'll give you the Istanbul of 1900, but I will take away all the skyscrapers and bridges" I would accept the offer without thinking for a second.

Sadly, the same situation seems to be the case in Athens.

Athens 100 years ago does look beautiful. And today, as with many other cities around the world, it looks not so good . . . in parts.

But to suggest that architectural achievement reached its pinnacle 100 years ago, as Pan Stanislav does, is to miss the point: quality living is about developing a workable - ie. humane - urban scale, not building in a certain style. Really, this is an urban design isssue rather than one of aesthetics.

That's why Rome is a success in my opinion. Despite being a city of over 2million, Rome, with the exception of the set piece locations such as the colloseum and St.Peters etc. actually has quite a modest scale elesewhere - and lots of trees everywhere - Romes, in fact, can feel like a town at times, thanks to this friendly, human centred scale. I feel this is why Rome is so rewarding to the visitor - more so than the historical aspect.

Athens can achieve this, and probably has in certain districts. In fact al cities can.

Even Istanbul, which at times can seem totally beyond control, is re-energizing itself by concentrating on certain areas where the urban fabric can once again be reverted to a more human scale.

There's nothing wrong in huilding beautiful architecture with trees. I'm against horrific "blocks" buildings that today sometimes dominate the cityscapes.

P.S. I didn't like Rome besides the historical parts :)