Inbal Jerusalem Magazine - Inbal Hotel Jerusalem

Heritagesouth, west to the east of the city, where do you pass?The station – it is at the central crossroads of the city. Ifound the urge to develop it - irresistible.”It was also like closing a circle.End of the TrackMordoch had been involved conceptually withHaTachanah in Tel Aviv – the highly successfulrenovated and rejuvenated 19th century train station inJaffa that opened in 2010. Day and night, Tel Aviv’s ‘oldnew’ railway station is packed with people with the onlyride these passengers taking is a journey of fun, andentertainment as they revisit the past. Now Mordoch ischasing his dream at the Jerusalem end of that sametrack that opened in 1892.not want another that will attract 200 tourists a day butrather a cultural center that will bring together thousandsof people - not only the overseas and local tourists butJerusalemites from all over the city,” says Mordoch.“Residents in Gilo hardly connect with residents ofRechavia or French Hill. I want the railway station torestore that intimacy, that familiarity, that friendliness,that feeling that the citizens of this city all know eachother that was once so typical of the atmosphere of theJerusalem I remember of my youth.”What will make this happen, believes Modoch, “is thatthe center of gravity of the city is changing. The RailwayStation appears not only in the topographic center of thecity, but also as its cultural center.All within the area that the municipality calls the “CulturalMile,” is the Jerusalem Theater, the Hansen complex (theformer leper colony, where there are also preservationDudi SaadRailway Relic. An old train coach before restoration.The project will include restaurants, exhibits, a marketand shops along with the train museum. Says Mayor NirBarkat: "Four years ago I set a vision to restore Jerusalemto be Israel's cultural capital, and you can already seethe results. The restored old train station is an exampleof private sector initiative and enthusiasm in promotingand developing Jerusalem along this ‘track’.”Something DifferentWhile it was natural to think of restoring the railwaystation to only a museum, “I thought – not sufficient.Jerusalem has hundreds of excellent museums. I didand development works under way to establish a mediacenter), the Khan Theater, the Cinematheque and theSherover Cultural Center, currently under constructionin the Abu Tor neighborhood. In addition, the station isadjacent to both the Liberty Park (next to the Inbal Hotel)and the train-track park. This park is located along theroute of the train line between Malha and the old trainstation, serving as a promenade for pedestrians, runnersand cyclists. Also a close walk away is the MenachemBegin Heritage Center and the Montefiore WindmillMuseum in Yemin Moshe.“We are creating a unique leisure and culinaryexperience,” says Mordoch. “If you’ve been to a movieSpring-Summe 201320