Gerard Behar Center
| Gerard Behar Center | |
|---|---|
| מרכז ז'ראר בכר | |
 |
|
| Former names | Beit Ha'Am |
| General information | |
| Status | Complete |
| Type | Arts centre |
| Address | 11 Bezalel Street |
| Town or city | Jerusalem |
| Country | Israel |
| Groundbreaking | 1950 |
| Completed | 1961 |
| Opened | 1961 |
| Renovated | 1983 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | A. Hoffman, David Reznik |
| Renovating team | |
| Architect | David Reznik |
| Other information | |
| Seating capacity | 650-seat and 200-seat theatres |
| Website | |
| gerard-behar |
|
Gerard Behar Center (Hebrew: מרכז ז'ראר בכר) is a major arts centre in Jerusalem, Israel, for independent theatre, dance, and musical productions, children's shows, art exhibitions, artist workshops, and festivals. In 2010 the center hosted over 900 events with attendance in excess of 263,600 participants. The center includes two theatres and is home to two dance companies, Kolben and Vertigo.
Formerly known as Beit Ha'Am, in 1961 the newly opened site was the venue for the trial of Nazi officer Adolf Eichmann, who sat in a specially-made bulletproof glass booth during the proceedings. After the trial, the building reverted to its use as a cultural center, but in 1983 the complex was upgraded to an arts centre by the Jerusalem Foundation with funding from Eliezer and Lucie Behar of France, who renamed the center in memory of their son, Gerard, a victim of the Nazis during World War II. In 1987 the Gerard Behar Center was incorporated into the newly named Jacob & Hilda Blaustein Civic Center, which encompasses the two theatres, a dance studio, a municipal library, an adult education program, and an ulpan.
Beit Ha'Am (Hebrew: בית העם, literally, "People's House") was a public cultural program operating in various cities in Israel; it was underway in Jerusalem by 1904. It provided public lectures, cultural evenings, a reading library, and a venue in which people could meet and discuss the issues of the day. Lacking a permanent home, the program moved from place to place in the vicinity of Street of the Prophets, with one of its better-known locations being on Isaiah Street, to the rear of the Histadrut building on Straus Street. In the 1930s and 1940s, Beit Ha'Am convened in various downtown theatres, including the Zion Cinema, the Eden Theater, the Orion Theater, and the Edison Theater, the latter of which had seating for over 2,000. After the establishment of the State of Israel, Beit Ha'Am occupied the Perlstein building at 70 Jaffa Road.
...
Wikipedia