What I can see

Athenas Street includes buildings that are a chapter of the city’s architectural history. At number 4, we find one of the oldest neoclassical buildings in Athens (1850), a sample of the heyday of Athenian classicism. It has a simple facade, pilasters with Corinthian capitals and is crowned with a pediment. Another example of the flourishing Athenian classicism of the 19th century is the Venetia Hotel (40 Athenas and Evripidou St.), which was built between 1875 and 1900. At number 51, we see the neoclassical Katsandri residence (1878), which was designed by Ernst Ziller. The first floor was a residence and the ground floor housed shops. So is the case with the two-storey building at number 32 (1900), a work of late neoclassicism. The building at number 33 is of the same era and architectural order. The Olympias Hotel is a bit different. It is of the inter-war period, a sample of transitional modernism, which at the same time has neo-Byzantine elements, such as the arches and pilasters at the openings.

What I can't see

In the niche in the middle of the facade of the building at number 32, there was probably a decorative sculpture. Also, in the Katsandris residence, the openings had pediments, but during the most recent repair, they were removed, altering its façade significantly. As is the case with many old buildings in Athens, there are many on Athenas Street that are in poor condition, due to lack of motivation for their restoration and an inflexible legal framework that does not adequately protect them.

Bibliography