Tel Aviv’s original train station, known as ‘HaTachana’, is a place for shopping, eating, drinking beer – lots of it – and mixing with locals and tourists. It is no more a place to catch a train but to catch a ride to a “destination” of fun.
An early South African locomotive engine.
South Africans know all about trains. It is sheer pleasure today to travel on ‘The Blue Train’ traversing the country and its breath-taking scenery in a manner that befits the mystique that has grown around this five-star “hotel-on-wheels”. From kings and presidents to love-struck honeymooners on board – its mobile bliss.
Down the Line
South Africa’s first track for steam-powered locomotives was a line of about 3.2 kilometres, linking Durban with Harbour Point, which opened on 26 June 1860. Cape Town followed suit opening the first section of a track to Eerste River in 1859. Of course, the vision of Cecil John Rhodes, to have a rail system that would run from the “Cape to Cairo“, would never materialise.
Station with the backdrop of Jaffa and the Mediterranean Sea.
Israel’s visionary for a track from Tel Aviv – well there was no Tel Aviv then, only Jaffa in those days – to Jerusalem, was Sir. Moses Montifiore. And that was way back in 1839.
That station that opened in 1891 and closed in 1948, has been rejuvenated to its former glory – and day and night – Tel Aviv’s ‘Hatachana’ (Hebrew for: “The Station”) is packed with people. The only ride these ‘passengers’ are taking is a journey of fun and entertainment as they revisit the past, enjoy the many fine restaurants, pubs, high fashion boutiques, ice cream parlors and jive to the pulsating beat of Tel Aviv.
The Jaffa station in the early 20th century.
Hidden from the public eye for well over half a century, HaTachana, was reopened in 2010 to the public. Situated between the fashionable Neveh Zedek neighborhood and the alluring Mediterranean Sea, the historic train station complex is again the nerve center and bustling main junction for commerce in the Land of Israel. Dormant and derelict until Israel’s modern-day visionaries and investors picked up the proverbial pioneering shovel, the station is once more ‘bustling’. It has joined the Namal (The ‘Port) as the ‘nerve center’ of Tel Aviv’s social scene and booming tourist industry. The complex includes, among others, the historic train station, the freight terminal, Templar Hugo Wieland’s building materials, his tile factory and the Wieland family’s home – ‘Villa Wieland’. The idea to lay railway tracks in Palestine was initially proposed by an earlier ‘visionary’, Sir Moses Montefiore. That was way in 1839, after the first public railway was constructed in England. Striving to develop modern industry in the Land of Israel, a major hurdle was the lack of suitable transport for machinery and raw materials. A modern railway was the obvious solution. However, negotiating with the Ottoman Turks for a license proved a bureaucratic nightmare and took a further 51 years for the first track to be laid on the 82-km long route from Jaffa to Jerusalem. Montefiore, for whom Israel is so indebted for his contribution to much of its development in the 19th century, would not live to see the fruits of his vision. The license to build was finally awarded in 1888 by the Turkish Sultan, Abel el-Hamid to Yossef Navon who was able to raise the necessary capital from Europe in order to lay the tracks and build the stations. It was close to a four-hour ride and when that first train rolled into Jerusalem to the welcoming applause of local residents, it heralded a new age of modern transportation.
Tel Aviv’s Golden Age
The Visionaries. Tel Aviv-Yafo mayor, Ron Huldai (left) and President Shimon Peres planning the restoration of the old Jaffa station.
Just like HaTachana today is abuzz with swarming shoppers and revelers, the rail in those early years was prosperous and served an ever-increasing number of merchants, tourists and pilgrims, including the “visionary of the State” Theodor Hertzl and German Kaiser, Wilhelm II. In 1913, some 180,000 passengers passed through the station. A beer or ice-cream today at Hatachana would cost more than a first-class ticket – that is, 50 grush (cents) for a special cabin and 30 grush for a second-class ticket. Not all were impressed! Hemda Ben- Yehuda writing in the ‘HaZvi’ newspaper in 1907 was one unhappy traveler accusing the developers of “scrimping”. The really “terrible thing is that the railway is lacking a number of truly necessary things. Where, for example, is the drinking water in the railcars… ashtrays for cigarette ash? And last but not least, where, I respectfully inquire, is the lavatory?”
Well there has been no ‘scrimping’ today. Everything is very upscale and no expense was spared in restoring Tel Aviv’s ‘Golden Age’ of early rail from the train tracks that go nowhere to the refurbished rail cars and freight terminals that attract thousands of people every day both locals and tourists from abroad. The complex is situated on 20 hectares and includes 22 buildings dating back to various historical periods. The buildings were restored by a team of professional architects, engineers and contractors, all experts in their fields and committed to the philosophy of maintaining historical and architectural integrity, providing visitors an authentic window into Tel Aviv’s past. Nuki Sigora who is today the Creative Director of HaTachana’s activities, organizes art exhibitions, as well as music and dance performances, “all by talented local artists. There is always something creative happening and it changes all the time. The public needs to watch the press or visit HaTachana’s website at www.hatachana.co.il.” The emphasis, she says, “is on local talent and this applies as well to the shopping.” What does she mean? “Well, while top shopping malls in Israel generally carry select overseas fashion lines, this is not our direction. Top yes; but local! This is a market place for the best of Israeli fashion designers as well as Israeli artists in arts and craft.”
Much to ‘Digest’
The station today – a far cry from the tumult of passengers over a century ago.
While there is no shortage of history there is also no shortage of places to eat. There is Café Tachana, appropriately named as it is in the original station building that was constructed in 1892. This charming café offers a varied menu including breakfast, sandwiches, pastas and quiches. While allowing your tongue to savor the delicious food, the mind can run riot on the history. The train station building is the central and most important structure in HaTachana “and was restored scrupulously,” said Shery Mark, an architect who was Creative Director for the project. “It was built from materials locally obtained – mainly sandstone and burnt bricks – and the design influenced by 19th century European-Templar construction culture. As you can see, steel beams, an innovative material at the time, were used to build the ceilings at great expense.” Only minor changes were made to the building over the years, mainly the addition of awnings to the various façades. The southern awning, made of steel beams filled with wood and covered with zinc, “is unique and was created by the same French company that built the Eiffel Tower.” The central area on the ground floor served as the ticket hall with a cashiers’ counter. The east wing housed the station’s administrative section – the station manager’s office, a room for railway employees and a private waiting room. A spiral staircase led to the second floor, where there were additional rooms for railway and station employees. The single storey west wing was divided into two sections – a luggage room and a waiting room. By now, one may need a drink! Offering 100 types of beer from across the world with plates of tapas is Shushka Shvili. Housed in an old Templar’s home, dinners can sit inside at the bar or outside at a pleasant rooftop table with breathtaking views of Jaffa. The Templar legacy is as pervasive as the sea breeze from the nearby Mediterranean Sea. In 1900, Templar Hugo Wieland returned from Germany and moved his home near the train station, building his brick and tile factory alongside. This close proximity to the railway provided Wieland an efficient and speedy means to transport his products to Jaffa port, where they were loaded onto ships for export. Designed in the Templar style, Wieland’s home was built using material produced in his factory. The front room that served as a lounge had a painted ceiling and coal fireplace for heating. During the restoration, two figurative murals – caricatures copied from a German magazine – were discovered. The floors were made of decorative tiles also produced in the family’s factory.
Time to move on and look for a place for desert?
Why not grab a cone of freshly made ice cream at Vaniglia and watch the passing show in the main courtyard? It’s Tel Aviv at its best – lively, pulsating and colorful – Israelis enjoying the moment as if there is no tomorrow.
Restored to its former Glory. This 19th century passenger coach traversed the track between Jaffa and Jerusalem.
For Creative Director Shery Mark it’s a sheer joy every time she revisits HaTachana. “Sure, I look with professional pride as to what we have achieved; how we have preserved the past, retained the integrity of the location and how we have integrated the past with the present.” For many years, she explains, “people never even knew about these buildings and if you mentioned the old railway station they would say: “What railway station? Where? What are you talking about?” Now, it’s the talk of the town. It’s Tel Aviv’s ‘in place’ and this ‘station’ has more people crossing its tracks, stepping into the stationary train coaches, viewing the freight terminal building each month than ever passed through in one year in its heyday.
For Shery, the job is complete, “but now, I can enjoy HaTachana, not as a professional but as a fellow Tel Avivian; I am amongst my people, having fun with them and enjoying every minute of it.” HaTachana combines history, culture and commerce – a “cultural compass” where every visitor is free to ‘take a ride’ whether the direction is history, shopping, entertainment or culinary.
Toot, Toot! Climb aboard.
Old World Charm. Nineteen century warehouses are today up-market stores and Boutiques.
address: HaTachana is located south of Neve Tzedek, next to the IDF history museum at 1 Koifmann St., Tel-Aviv-Jaffa.
Open Hours: HaTachana is open daily from 10:00 AM to 10:00 PM.
website : http://www.hatachana.co.il/home
Categories : Things to do & Attraction
