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Agron House (Hebrew: בית אגרון, Beit Agron) is a landmark in downtown Jerusalem. Constructed in memory of Gershon Agron, it has housed various Israeli national institutions in pursuit of the arts. It is located at 37 Hillel Street.[1]
After Jerusalem mayor Gershon Agron died in office in 1959, a group of his friends formed the Agron Committee. This committee tasked themselves with creating a suitable tribute to the life of Agron. They first convened a year after his death in Moshe Sharett's room in the Savoy Hilton Hotel in New York to plan a memorial project dedicated to Agron. Sharett was the group's chairman, with Israel Goldstein and Meyer Weisgal co-chairs; Goldstein and Weisgal had previously worked on the construction of the Jewish Palestine Pavilion at the 1939 World's Fair together.[2]: 90, 293
The cornerstone of Beit Agron was laid on 10 October 1961 by Sharett. Cemented into it was a scroll signed by Agron's widow Ethel, his children Danny and Varda, his mayoral successor Mordechai Ish-Shalom, and members of the Agron Committee as well as other Israeli notables.[3] In a tribute at the Beit Agron cornerstone ceremony, Goldstein said Agron was "the journalist par excellence", also praising his services as an ambassador for Israel and Zionism:[2]: 110
Wherever he came, he not only reflected the light of Zion but radiated it to Jews and non-Jews. His warm, sparkling personality captured many hearts and his brilliant, untrammeled approach captured many minds. Gershon disarmed antagonists, converted neutrals into partisans, and partisans into enthusiasts.
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Agron House was designed as a minimalist and modernist building by David Resnick,[4] and construction began in 1963. It is a complex of three buildings comprising a four-story office block, a large auditorium known as Moses Hall, and a conference hall which has also functioned as a restaurant. In front of the building is a parking lot, for which some of Independence Park was paved over.[5] The Morris L. Schaver Auditorium is located in Agron House, the creation of which was supported by the Jerusalem Foundation.[1] It was named after an American whose widowed wife, Emma Schaver, was a singer.[6]
The building was completed in 1969, and opened on 3 June 1969 by prime minister Golda Meir. Celebrations included a "festive lunch".[7]
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It was created as the headquarters of the Israeli Press Association, where Jerusalem's journalists were all based,[6] but no longer serves this purpose.[2]: 109 It has also previously housed the Jerusalem Cinematheque (and National Film Archive),[8] the National Photo Collection,[9][10] newspaper foreign bureaus and the Government Press Office (GPO), and student dormitories of the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design.[11]
The Jerusalem Cinematheque (founded by Lia van Leer) existed at Agron House from 1975 until the 1980s; a 1980 grant saw construction of its own building begin.[12] After this, the cinema at Agron House and the Jerusalem Cinematheque (as separate cinemas) were the first to show films on the Sabbath, which eventually drew protest from ultra-Orthodox residents in the 1980s.[13][14] Their film screenings on Friday nights were accompanied by lectures (of debatable quality) about the film, as venues could only operate on the Sabbath for "cultural events"; the ultra-Orthodox community started protesting when other cinemas started showing films on the Sabbath, which they did without pretense of lectures, and a wider movement to have more Sabbath entertainment began.[14] Over time, as the foreign bureaus closed or reduced capacity, they left Agron House, and the GPO followed in 2011. That year, the Bezalel school won a tender to operate the building, splitting it between dorms and commercial space.[11] It is the location of the Center for Near East Policy Research, directed by David Bedein.[15]
Beit Amir, which is located at 1 Agron Street, is sometimes called Beit Agron, but is a different building. It was also designed by Resnick and constructed in the 1960s.[16][17]
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