Municipal Nursery
Neoclassical building on Pireos Street that was a municipal nursery. Today, it houses the administrative services of the Municipal Gallery.
Modern and Contemporary era (1821 - )
1872 Beginning of construction.
1875 Inaugurated.
1889 A therapeutic center was added and became the first children's hospital.
1893 The Agii Anargiri small church was completed. It was designed by Stamatis Lardis.
1982 It was renovated to house the Municipal Gallery, which moved to the old silk factory in 2010 and this building has housed its administrative services ever since.
Ottoman era (1453- 1821)
Byzantine era (331 AC- 1453)
Roman era (30 BC- 330 AC)
Hellenistic era (322- 31 BC)
Classical era (478-323 BC)
Archaic era (800-479 BC)
Geometric era (-1100- 800 BC)
Prehistory (-1100 BC)
What I can see
It is a two-storey neoclassical building with an arched arcade on the facade, which “eases” the strictness of neoclassicism. It is likely that it was designed by Gerasimos Metaxas, under the supervision of Panagiotis Kalkos.
What I can't see
It was built to house the city’s nursery, which was originally housed in various buildings and at a time when unwanted pregnancies resulted in babies being abandoned on the street or even murdered. It was built with donations and was under the protection of Queen Olga. In addition to caring for infants, the nursery had a “vrefodochos”, where mothers left their children for the institution to take care of. It was abolished in the late 1960s. Increasing infant mortality led to the creation of a dairy farm of 15 cows from Russia for fresh milk. During World War II, the mortality rate reached 120% and the infants were transferred to Voula area (PIKPA).
Info
- Address: 51 Pireos/P. Tsaldari St.
Bibliography
National Research Foundation, (d.u.), Αρχαιολογία της πόλης των Αθηνών, [Archaeology of the city of Athens], in
https://archaeologia.eie.gr/archaeologia/gr/arxeio_more.aspx?id=220
Last visit 20/3/2024
Zivas D.A.., (2012), Αρχιτεκτονικός Οδηγός Αθηνών, [Architectural Guide of Athens], Cultural Foundation of Pireos Group
Mitropoulou K., (d.u.), Αθήνα, μνήμες και κτήρια, [Athens, memories and buildings], Athens: Sideris Publication
