King George Street (Jerusalem)

King George Street (Hebrew: רחוב המלך ג׳ורג׳‎, Rehov ha-Melekh Jorj, Arabic: شارع الملك جورج‎ Shara'a al-Malik Jurj) is a street in central Jerusalem which joins Ben Yehuda Street and Jaffa Road to form the Downtown Triangle central business district.[1] The street was named in honour of King George V on December 9, 1924.[2]

For other uses, see King George Street (disambiguation).
King George and Jaffa Street pedestrian scramble, 2007
King George Street 1945
Froumine House, early 1950s

History

King George Street was dedicated in honour of the seventh anniversary of the British conquest of Jerusalem under General Allenby. The inauguration took place in 1924,[3] in the presence of Sir Herbert Samuel, the High Commissioner for Palestine, Sir Ronald Storrs, the military governor of Jerusalem,[4] and Raghib al-Nashashibi, the Arab mayor of Jerusalem.[5]

King George Street today

Jerusalem's first traffic light was installed at the intersection of King George Street and Jaffa Road.[6] In 1950–1966, the Knesset, Israel's parliament, met at Beit Froumine on King George Street. It was used by Israel's first five governments, until the Knesset moved to a permanent building in Givat Ram.[7]

Until the advent of the Jerusalem Light Rail, King George Street was one of two Jerusalem streets with a pedestrian scramble; the other is Kikar HaShabbat.

Landmarks

See also

References
  1. Neighborhoods in brief
  2. About King George Street
  3. A Walk Across Jerusalem History, Haaretz
  4. Sir Ronald Storrs and Zion: The Dream That Turned into a Nightmare
  5. King George Street in Jerusalem
  6. Haman's Hat: Life in the Jerusalem Triangle
  7. Beit Froumine
  8. Aviva Bar-Am, WALKING TOUR: BY GEORGE!, in Jerusalem Post, 25 December 2008
  • Commemorative plaque on King George Street
  • Dedication of the street in 1924
  • Construction of high-rise building on King George Street, 1940
  • The carillon of the shopping center at the beginning of the street

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