Diskin Street and the Homes of the Shaarei Chesed Neighborhood, Early 1970s
Another “Once Upon a Time in Jerusalem”
The photo was taken from the direction of the Valley of the Cross in the early 1970s.
At the bottom of the image is the narrow road crossing the Valley of the Cross—what is today Hayim Hazaz Boulevard, which connects to Ben Zvi Boulevard to the north. The steep road climbing to the Rehavia neighborhood on the right is today’s Ruppin Road, which connects to Ramban Street.
Diskin Street, visible in the photo with its narrow houses and red-tiled roofs, forms the western border of the Shaarei Chesed neighborhood and is characterized by the narrow, deep houses typical of historic Shaarei Chesed.
On the slope below the row of houses on Diskin Street, residential towers would later be built in 1973—Jerusalem’s first high-rise buildings in the Wolfson complex.
Eventually, five 16-story towers would be constructed there, with terraced residential levels descending the slope, along with an internal commercial center.
In 1970, Jerusalem had about 266,000 residents, following a significant population increase after the reunification of the city in 1967.
At the corner of Diskin and Ramban Streets, two additional towers would later be built by the Levy family, and within a decade, the sparse pastoral landscape would be replaced by a row of high-rise buildings east of Ben Zvi Boulevard.
Thus, within ten years, the pastoral view in the photo would transform into a wall of towering buildings in the heart of the historic city.
This is our Jerusalem—the eternal, historic city that constantly changes with time, with steady demographic growth and a magnetic pull for Jews around the world—while needing to preserve the uniqueness of the most special city in the world.
A difficult task indeed.
Shabbat Shalom to those far and near from Jerusalem. May our kidnapped brothers return swiftly and safely together with our soldiers, and may we merit the mutual responsibility that is sorely lacking these days.
Photo by the late Chaim Radin
