Intro
Greek cities are not popular for their modern or 19th century architecture. In fact, the majority of the buildings in (at least the bigger cities) is very repetitive, characterized by grey, block-shaped buildigns attached to each other. Thessaloniki is no exception to this rule. Nevertheless, the ancient and byzantine antiquities are not the only visual oases for its residents and tourists: The city has several beautiful buildings, often "trapped" between the modern uglier buildings spread in its city center and outskirts.
The buildings are either private or used by the state. The photographs used in this article are taken back in 2014 and used intentionally for having an oldish archive of photographs, as some of the buildings you see below are now restored or purschased by differrent owners.
Many of the buildings are located in a major street of Thessaloniki, conencting the city center with the eastern neighbourhoods of the city (Vasilissis Olgas), and overall the list contains:
- Neoclassical buildings
- The III Army Corps building
- The (at the time) ministry of Macedonia and Thrace, generally known as Goverment House
- Villa Ahmet Kapanci
- Villa Mordoch
- The Casa Bianca
- The K. Mitta's Residence
- Villa Mehmet Kapanci
- The Papafion Foundation
- The old customs house
- The School of Philosophy of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
- Villa Allatini
- The old Greek general consulate
- Mansions
- Chateau mon amour
- Villa Modiano
- Villa Osman Ali Bey
- Villa Hafiz Bey
- Yeni Mosque
- Abandonded buildings
- Salem Mansion
- Villa Hirsch
- Villa Chatzilazarou / Siaga
- Longos Mansion
- Allatini Mills
Neoclassical buildings
Completion date: 1890
Intented use: Turkish barrack
Use today: III Greek Army Corps
Architect : Vitaliano Poselli
Completion date: 1891
Intended use: Home of governor-general (vali) of the Salonica Vilayet
Use today: Deputy Ministry of Macedonia-Thrace
Architect: Vialiano Poselli
Completion date: 1895
Intended use: Residence of merchant, industrialist and banker Mehmet Kapandci.
Use today: Cultural Center of the National Bank of Greece in Thessaloniki
Architect: Pietro Arrigoni
Completion date: 1905
Intented use: Residence of Seifullah Pasha
Use today: Municipal offices of Thessaloniki
Architect: Xenophon Paionidis.
Completion date: 1913
Intented use: Residence of Dino Fernandez Diaz and his family
Use today: Municipal Art Gallery
Architect: Pietro Arrigoni
Completion date: 1920
Intented use: Residence of K. Mitta
Use today: None
Architect: Unknown
Completion date: 1895
Intented use: Residence of Ahmet Kapanci
Use today: Residence of Ahmet Kapanci (brother of Mehmet above)
Architect: Pietro Arrigoni
Completion date: 1903
Intented use: Orphanage
Use today: Child Care Center
Architect: Peonidis Xenofondas
Completion date: 1912
Intented use: Customs
Use today: Passenger port station
Architect: Alexandre Vallaury & Eli Modiano
Completion date: 1888
Intented use: Administrative center for Ottomans
Use today: School of philosophy, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
Architect: Vitaliano Poselli
Completion date: 1898
Intented use: Residence of Allatini family
Use today: Offices of Central Macedonia region
Architect: Vitaliano Poselli
Completion date: 1893
Intented use: Residence and workplace of Greek consulate general in Thessaloniki
Use today: Macedonian Struggle Museum
Architect: Ermst Ziller
Other Mansions
Completion date: 1890
Intented use: Demonstration of love from D. Tsakerentzi to his love, named Eftichia (happiness)
Use today: None
Architect: Ermst Ziller
Completion date: 1906
Intented use: Residence of the banker Yiako Modiano and his family
Use today: Folklife and Ethnological Museum of Macedonia and Thrace
Architect: Eli Modiano
Completion date: 1897
Intented use: Residence
Use today: Center for Byzantine Research of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
Architect: Frederic Charnot
Completion date: 1907
Intented use: Residence
Use today: School for the Blind (Thessaloniki)
Architect: Xenophon Paionidis
Completion date: 1902
Intented use: Mosque
Use today: Exhibition Centre
Architect: Vitaliano Poselli
Abandonded Buildings
Completion date: 1878
Intented use: Residence of Jeborga family
Use today: None
Architect: Xenophon Paionidis
Completion date: 1911
Intented use: Residence of Vitali Fernandez
Use today: None
Architect: Pierro Arrigoni
Completion date: 1890
Intented use: Residence of Chatzilazarou family
Use today: None
Architect: Xenophon Paionidis
Completion date: 1926
Intented use: Residence of Grigorios Longos family
Use today: Greek foodball team (PAOK) merchandising boutique
Architect: Leonardo Gennari
Completion date: 1898
Intented use: Various uses for the Allatini businesses (warehouses, administration, refrigeration etc.)
Use today: None
Architect: Vitaliano Poselli
Outro
Thessaloniki is much more than amazing food and parties. Its rich history and the multicultural influences from the various hands it has changed is reflected in the city's architecture (maybe not as much in some cases, but it is definately there).
The fans of architecture and architectural photoraphy will easily and quickly realize that the city is a raw diamond when it comes to photography, especially because there are not yet many that have covered the city in depth.
My advice: Chose a sunny but not too warm day, and take a bus to the end of Vassilissis Olgas avenue. Get off, grab a coffee and start walking towards the city center. Do not use your phone, just observe the houses. When you finish your walk, you will have a different, more beautiful opinion about the architecture in Thessaloniki.
