Hello dogsbollocks and thank you for your question.
Sir Ronald Storrs (the first British military governor of Jerusalem)
enacted a bylaw in 1918 requiring that all new buildings use (or are
faced with) Jerusalem Stone, to preserve the citys architectural stile
(it also helped to visually define the extent of the city)
==========================================================
"Storrs’s stare of Medusa: the Jerusalem stone by-law
The first British military governor of Jerusalem, Sir Ronald Storrs,
enacted a bylaw in 1918. It required square, dressed natural stone
(termed Jerusalem stone) to be used for the external walls of all new
buildings constructed in the city.
Giving Jerusalem a single architectural uniform, Storrs created the
conditions for its expansion. The stone coating does more than just
fulfil an aesthetic agenda by maintaining a continuity of appearance.
It visually defines the geographic limits of Jerusalem, and marks by
association the extent of its holiness."
http://www.opendemocracy.net/debates/article-2-45-808.jsp
"Preserving the Character of a Developing Ancient City
The new British rulers of the city recognized the need to preserve
Jerusalem's unique character and historic landscape/beauty, while
transforming it into a modern city. The new British administration
instituted town planning. In 1918 Sir William McLean, the city
engineer of Alexandria, was invited to Jerusalem by Storrs in order to
prepare a town plan. Two months after his arrival he submitted a
master plan. McLean's plan aimed at preserving the Old City and the
Mount of Olives, while developing areas to the west and north.
Building was also forbidden in the area adjoining the Old City walls,
so as not to obstruct the sight of the walls from afar. In order to
ensure the basic principles of this plan Ronald Storrs forbade new
building without his written permission. Later Storrs issued a law
that required that all construction in the city use only "native
Jerusalem stone". This law is still exists and has done a remarkable
job of preserving the city's unique beauty."
http://www.biu.ac.il/JS/rennert/history_12.html
==========================================================
Other sites mentioning the mandatory use of Jerusalem Stone:
"Over the centuries Jerusalem has been described bymany who have seen
her glory as the "City of Gold" mainly because of the effect that the
reflecting sunlight of dusk and dawn has upon her buildings and walls.
The rays of the sun give a special glow to these stones which make
this city unique. As a result of this beauty, there is a city
ordinance that requires all new buildings in Jerusalem to be built
with "Jerusalem Stone," the stone itself being quarried near the
city."
http://users.codenet.net/sward/ntcf/NewsLet/newsl61/Page4x.html
"Jerusalem’s New City is bustling and modern, although there are still
many ancient and historical places to visit. One important thing to
notice is that, because of a declaration made in 1918 during the
British Mandate, when the British controlled Palestine, all new
buildings had to be constructed using the city’s famous white
Jerusalem stone. This is why the city gleams in the setting sun."
http://www.israelnowandforever.org/ForKids_The_New_City.asp
"Architects for example, have to adjust to the different building
materials and construction methods used in Israel, such as Jerusalem
stone for all buildings in Jerusalem."
http://www.wzo.org.il/en/resources/view.asp?id=396
"All buildings in Jerusalem are faced with Jerusalem stone, quarried
from the area, which has a slight pinkish tinge, so the outsides are
amazingly uniform."
http://cchsclassof53.com/CindysTrip.htm
========================================================
Anecdotes regarding Jerusalem Stone
"The British administration enacted a local statute allowing building
only of stone in Jerusalem. Stone was expensive, Jews were poor, and
the statute was described as ‘anti-Semitic’. In 1948, the Gentiles’
stone mansions of Jerusalem were confiscated and given to Jews, while
the legal owners were pushed into refugee camps. They languish in
poverty so we can live better."
http://www.israelshamir.net/english/easter1.shtml
"Levine explained that his song, "Jerusalem Stone," was an attempt to
provide the Mitzvah Chorus with an English language Jewish song."
http://www.jewishdc.org/news/wjwnews/wjwnews10.html
"Jerusalem Stone" was excavated by the Israelites as early as 1000 to
2000 BC. and used to construct religious sites such as Solomon's
Temple."
http://www.gifts-of-faith.com/Holyland/keepsakecross/Keepsakecross.shtml
"There are also some buildings constructed of other materials than the
famed Jerusalem limestone, such as the dome-shaped synagogue on Hebrew
University's Givat Ram campus, and the rather ungainly Ein Karem
branch of the Hadassah Hospital.
Fortunately, these are exceptions to the rule, and even in those days,
the principle of using Jerusalem stone was largely observed, so damage
was limited and the city's overall picture was preserved.
After 1967, a more unified planning approach materialized for the
entire city. Another accelerated phase of urban development got under
way, which concentrated on finding the best solutions for combining
the history and modernity."
http://www.jpost.com/com/Archive/27.Nov.1996/bus/re_main_3.html
"Some Jerusalem stone was used in San Diego, but it came from near
Yatta in the territories. About 90 percent comes from the
territories."
http://www.samorbaum.com/notP1-people/Shadmon,%20Asher.html
"21,000 square metres of Antique GoldJerusalem Stone was used on the
floor at San DiegoInternational Airport."
http://www.chinapdf.com/PDF-samples/corporate-brochoure/expotile.pdf
Thank you for your question, and if you need any clarification of my
answer do not hesitate to ask.
Very best regards
THX1138
Search strategy included:
"jerusalem stone" 1918
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&safe=off&as_qdr=all&q=%22jerusalem+stone%22+1918 |
,
0 Comments
)