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Art Tour Series, Central Bus Station, Architecture & Environment

Tel Aviv Central Bus Station, 3rd Round

Architecture & Environment Walking Tour

Its complex, ugly, monstrous, dirty, mysterious and took over 25 years to build, but when Tel Aviv's new Central Bus Station was opened by Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in 1993, it held the title as the biggest bus station in the world until finally eclipsed by India in 2010. The station covers 230,000 square meters, over 44 dunams of terminals, theaters, shops, restaurants and so much more.

Why would such a small country like Israel build such a concrete behemoth? What was the city thinking in 1967 when construction began? Who designed such insanity?

Join the Tel Aviv Arts Council's Art Tour Series and travel inside the belly of the beast with an expert guide. Since only 45% of the building is occupied, we will explore its untouristed urban maze, talk about its unique architecture, visit the station's local Chinatown and even reach the underground bat cave, complete with its own atomic bomb shelter. Learn about various plans for the future and the recent attempts to rehabilitate the station with new art galleries, theaters and community projects.


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