Mashiach Borochoff House ( he, בית משיח בורוכוף) is a historical building located at 64

Jaffa Road Jaffa Road ( he, רחוב יפו, Rehov Yaffo; ar, شارع يافا) is one of the longest and oldest major streets in Jerusalem. It crosses the city from east to west, from the Old City walls to downtown Jerusalem, the western portal of Jer ...

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

. Built in 1908 in

eclectic Eclectic may refer to: Music * ''Eclectic'' (Eric Johnson and Mike Stern album), 2014 * ''Eclectic'' (Big Country album), 1996 * Eclectic Method, name of an audio-visual remix act * Eclecticism in music, the conscious use of styles alien to th ...

style, its entrance is covered by an

arcade Arcade most often refers to: * Arcade game, a coin-operated game machine ** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade game's hardware ** Arcade system board, a standardized printed circuit board * Amusement arcade, a place with arcade games * ...

with pointed arches supported by pseudo-

Corinthian columns The Corinthian order (Greek: Κορινθιακός ρυθμός, Latin: ''Ordo Corinthius'') is the last developed of the three principal classical orders of Ancient Greek architecture and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric order w ...

. The gate, in the style of 17th-century

Georgian architecture Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1714 and 1830. It is named after the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I, George II, Georg ...

, consists of two pillars connected by

ironwork Ironwork is any weapon, artwork, utensil, or architectural feature made of iron, especially one used for decoration. There are two main types of ironwork: wrought iron and cast iron. While the use of iron dates as far back as 4000BC, it was th ...

. A lion statue is placed atop each pillar. The house was built by Mashiach Borochoff, a wealthy Bukharan Jewish merchant, as a family residence. In 1947, a year after Borochoff's death, the property was sold to

Barclays Barclays () is a British multinational universal bank, headquartered in London, England. Barclays operates as two divisions, Barclays UK and Barclays International, supported by a service company, Barclays Execution Services. Barclays traces ...

bank. It has functioned as a bank branch since that time.

History

Mashiach Borochoff was a wealthy Bukharan Jewish

textile Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not the ...

merchant who resided in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

. The youngest son of Baruch Borochoff, he accompanied his father to Palestine in 1882 when his father made

aliyah Aliyah (, ; he, עֲלִיָּה ''ʿălīyyā'', ) is the immigration of Jews from Jewish diaspora, the diaspora to, historically, the geographical Land of Israel, which is in the modern era chiefly represented by the Israel, State of Israel ...

and settled in the

Nahalat Shiv'a Nahalat Shiv'a ( he, נחלת שבעה) is a former courtyard neighborhood in Jerusalem. It was the third Jewish neighborhood built outside the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem in the 1860s. Today it is a crowded pedestrian promenade lined ...

neighborhood. Mashiach returned to Russia to run the family's business operations in Moscow and

Tashkent Tashkent (, uz, Toshkent, Тошкент/, ) (from russian: Ташкент), or Toshkent (; ), also historically known as Chach is the capital and largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of ...

. In 1919 he moved the family's assets to Palestine and settled in Jerusalem, where he worked as an activist on behalf of the Sephardic Jewish community. From 1925 to 1946 he served as governor of the Sephardi Orphanage. Borochoff built the mansion at 64 Jaffa Road to accommodate his large family. He acquired the land from Wilhelm Duisberg, a German Christian. The house was erected on the southern part of Duisberg's land, facing Jaffa Road, while the German Consulate was built on the northern part of the property, facing

Street of the Prophets Street of the Prophets ( he, רחוב הנביאים, ''Rehov HaNevi'im'') is an east–west axis road in Jerusalem beginning outside Damascus Gate and ending at Davidka Square. Located to the north of Jaffa Road, it bisects the neighborhood of ...

. The house faced the neighborhood of Even Yisrael across Jaffa Road. It was surrounded by other prestigious buildings, including the home of

Joseph Navon Yosef Navon (; 1858–1934) was a Jerusalem businessman and the man principally responsible for the construction of the Jaffa–Jerusalem railway. For his effort, Navon was awarded the Légion d'honneur from the French government, and the Medjidie ...

to the north and the Kaminetz Hotel to the west. The house was one of several "impressive buildings" on Jaffa Road constructed by wealthy Bukharan Jews; others include

Batei Saidoff Batei Saidoff ( he, בתי סיידוף, "Saidoff Houses") is a former courtyard neighborhood in western Jerusalem. Erected by Yitzhak Saidoff, a wealthy Bukharan Jew, in 1911, it was one of a series of courtyard neighborhoods built along Jaffa Ro ...

and the Kandinoff House.

Architecture

The mansion was designed in an

architectural style. The entrance is covered with an

with three pointed arches supported by pseudo-

. The ceiling of the arcade is decorated with rosettes. The overall effect was meant to impress and attract the attention of passersby on Jaffa Road, the main Jerusalem thoroughfare. The

front gate hangs between two pillar piers with a

scrollwork The scroll in art is an element of ornament and graphic design featuring spirals and rolling incomplete circle motifs, some of which resemble the edge-on view of a book or document in scroll form, though many types are plant-scrolls, which l ...

overthrow bearing the date of construction, 1908. According to Kroyanker, the gate is in the style of 17th-century

. Atop each pillar is a lion statue. These statues were sculpted by Simcha Yanover. The lion statues are noted for their resemblance to the lion statues posted on pillars in front of the Mahane Yehuda Police Station, further to the west, although it is not known who sculpted the latter. One of the lions was rendered in

micrography Micrography (from Greek, literally small-writing – "Μικρογραφία"), also called microcalligraphy, is a Jewish form of calligrams developed in the 9th century, with parallels in Christianity and Islam,Barclays Barclays () is a British multinational universal bank, headquartered in London, England. Barclays operates as two divisions, Barclays UK and Barclays International, supported by a service company, Barclays Execution Services. Barclays traces ...

Bank, which turned the house into a bank branch. The branch underwent a name change in 1971 when Barclays established a subsidiary, Barclays Discount Bank. In 1993 the subsidiary was purchased by

Israel Discount Bank Israel Discount Bank, Ltd. is a retail bank, commercial bank, private bank and financial services company headquartered in Tel Aviv with 112 branches throughout Israel. Discount Bank is a public company traded on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange und ...

and renamed

Mercantile Discount Bank Mercantile Discount Bank ( he, בנק מרכנתיל דיסקונט בע"מ) is a major commercial bank in Israel, and is a subsidiary of Israel Discount Bank. It is the sixth largest bank in Israel. Controversies Involvement in Israeli sett ...

. A Mercantile Discount Bank branch operates in the house to this day.

References

Sources

* * * * * {{Commonscat, Mashiach Borochoff House Jerusalem Buildings and structures in Jerusalem Houses completed in 1908 Bukharan-Jewish culture in Israel