What I can see

A historic hotel was located here, but has now almost totally collapsed. It was a building of early classicism, which is why it had austere and symmetrical facades that exuded Doricity.

What I can't see

It was probably the oldest hotel in the city and was called “Anatoli” (East). Lord Byron and King Otto had stayed here. Otto had chosen it because it was close to Agia Irini Church, which functioned as a cathedral at that time, and access for attending mass was easier. It is likely that the hotel also functioned as an astronomical and meteorological observatory, before the National Observatory was built. Moreover, shops were housed on the ground floor. When it was renamed to “Byron” (late 19th century), it turned into a luxury hotel for aristocrats, but later and until the end of the military dictatorship (1974), it operated as an adults-only hotel. Then, it was abandoned, until its nearly total collapse a few years ago.

Info

• Address: 38 Aeolou St.

Bibliography