Jerusalem Theater under construction, Chopin Street in the Talbiyeh neighborhood, late 1960s.
In 1958, the Jerusalem Municipality, under the leadership of then-Mayor Mordechai Ish-Shalom, declared that the capital of Israel also deserved some culture and cultural buildings. They launched a design competition for the city’s municipal theater in the city of King David.
Architects Michael and Shulamit Nadler, along with architect Shmuel Bickson, won first place in the competition. Later, legendary Mayor Teddy Kollek enlisted the philanthropists Miles and Gita Sherover to the mission, and their contribution enabled the construction of the central section of the theater.
On October 17, 1964, a cornerstone ceremony for the Jerusalem Theater took place on land in the heart of the Talbiyeh neighborhood, near the President’s Residence, the Museum of Islamic Art, Hansen House (formerly a leprosy hospital), and the Prime Minister’s house.
Its topographical location above the “Moon Grove” park and its grand entrance plaza turned the area into the city’s cultural square.
The building was inaugurated in October 1971, seven years after the cornerstone ceremony. It included a single building – the Sherover Theater with 970 seats.
The building was designed with a unique architectural concept, featuring an intricate structure built from exposed concrete and stone, intended to transform the experience of entering a performance into an immersive journey through diverse spaces within the fields of theater and music.
Thus, an imposing concrete block was built, with its entrance through a wide, low avenue flanked by two staircases leading to a hall with a large sloping space, devoid of balconies, allowing the audience to feel integrated with the performance on stage.
At the request of Miles Sherover, several sculptures by the artist Yechiel Shemi were commissioned, made of concrete, and placed in the theater plaza, above the main entrance, and inside the theater spaces.
Following Egyptian President Sadat’s visit to Jerusalem and the signing of the peace agreement, in a rare moment of optimism, a sculpture by French artist François Lellen was installed in the plaza in 1978. It consisted of an obelisk of stone, a reference to Egyptian culture, With a dove perched atop, a duel symbol of both peace and Jewish-Israeli heritage.
In February 1986, with a donation from the Crown family of Chicago, the second wing of the theater was completed, which included three additional halls.
Since then, thousands of performances and concerts have taken place in the theater’s halls, making it the city’s most important cultural center.
Today, the area surrounding the theater and the Talbiyeh neighborhood has become one of the most prestigious areas in the city.
Opposite the theater, a residential project was built, including a hotel and luxury apartments overlooking southern Jerusalem above the Moon Grove. The Sherover Villa, part of the philanthropic family that contributed greatly to the city’s renewal, is nearby.
At the foot of the villa, a luxury residential project was built. The Jerusalem Bar Association building is located to the west of the theater, and to the south of the Moon Grove, a luxury residential project is being developed on the outskirts of the German Colony, Hansen House, and the Talbiyeh neighborhood.
The comedy group “Ha-Gashash Ha-Hivar”, who appeared dozens of times in the theater and created a renewed, humorous Hebrew language, was replaced by neighbors speaking broken Hebrew with a heavy American accent.
The dove of peace perched atop the obelisk, its wings drooping, bows its head in sorrow, shedding a hidden tear for a dream that is yet to be fulfilled in a country still at war.
This is our Jerusalem – a city of culture, renewal, and contradictions that can coexist in harmony only in a city where every stone and every block of concrete tells the story of the city’s revival.
Wishing a peaceful Sabbath to those far and near, may the hostages return soon to their families, along with all the soldiers of the IDF and those evacuated from their homes, and may peace come to Israel.
