Yehuda Magidovitch (1886–1961) was one of the most prolific

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

s. Among his prominent works are the Galei Aviv Casino, a café-restaurant (demolished in 1939), and the Cinema Esther (now Cinema Hotel), both in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

.Aisenberg, Lydia
"Cinema Tel Aviv - A reel special hotel"
in ''

The Jerusalem Post ''The Jerusalem Post'' is a broadsheet newspaper based in Jerusalem, founded in 1932 during the British Mandate of Palestine by Gershon Agron as ''The Palestine Post''. In 1950, it changed its name to ''The Jerusalem Post''. In 2004, the pap ...

'', 9 August 2009

Biography

Early life

Yehuda Magidovitch was born in 1886 in

Uman Uman ( uk, Умань, ; pl, Humań; yi, אומאַן) is a city located in Cherkasy Oblast in central Ukraine, to the east of Vinnytsia. Located in the historical region of the eastern Podolia, the city rests on the banks of the Umanka River ...

in the

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inva ...

. He studied in

Odessa Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrativ ...

. In 1919, he emigrated to

Mandatory Palestine Mandatory Palestine ( ar, فلسطين الانتدابية '; he, פָּלֶשְׂתִּינָה (א״י) ', where "E.Y." indicates ''’Eretz Yiśrā’ēl'', the Land of Israel) was a geopolitical entity established between 1920 and 1948 ...

Career

Magidovitch became the first chief engineer of Tel Aviv in 1920. In 1923 he established his own design and construction company. In 1934 his son Raphael also joined the office.Metsger-Samoḳ, Nitsah
''Des maisons sur le sable: Tel-Aviv, mouvement moderne et esprit Bauhaus''
Éditions de l’éclat, 2004 Magidovitch's 1920s buildings were in

eclectic style Eclecticism is a kind of mixed style in the fine arts: "the borrowing of a variety of styles from different sources and combining them" . Significantly, Eclecticism hardly ever constituted a specific style in art: it is characterized by the fact t ...

, but beginning in the early 1930s he started moving towards

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unit ...

. His first International style designs from 1934 retained a personal artistic expression.

Death

Magidovitch suffered a brain hemorrhage in 1954, which brought his professional activity to an end. He died in 1961 in Tel Aviv, Israel.

Gallery

File:Tel Aviv Great Synagogue.jpg, Great Synagogue of Tel Aviv in the 1930s (built 1924-25) File:Old Russian Embassy in Tel Aviv.jpg, The Levin House, used for many years by the former

Soviet embassy This is a list of diplomatic missions of Russia. These missions are subordinate to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Russian Federation has one of the largest networks of embassies and consulates of any country. Russia has significant ...

Rothschild Boulevard Rothschild Boulevard (, ''Sderot Rotshild'') is one of the principal streets in the center of Tel Aviv, Israel, beginning in Neve Tzedek at its southwestern edge and running north to Habima Theatre. It is one of the most expensive streets in the ...

, Tel Aviv (1924) File:Gottgold House Tel Aviv 2011.jpg, Gottgold House, Tel Aviv (1935–36); with Raphael Magidovitch. Built in a dialogue of forms with the Polishuk House (1934)

across the street Across may refer to: Technology and engineering * Across Language Server, a software platform * ACROSS Project, an R&D project in social robotics * Suzuki Across (motorcycle), a motorcycle manufactured by Suzuki * Suzuki Across (crossover), an ...

. File:PB090021.JPG, Cinema Esther, now Cinema Hotel, Tel Aviv (1938)

References

External links

1886 births 1973 deaths People from Uman People from Tel Aviv Architects in Mandatory Palestine Israeli architects {{Israel-bio-stub