What I can see

Stadiou Street is one of the most central roads in the city, connecting its main squares, Omonia Square and Syntagma Square. Along this route, one encounters iconic buildings and architectural landmarks, such as historic hotels, bank buildings, mansions (e.g., Efessios, OTE), the historic Klafthmonos Square, and the National Historical Museum – the Old Parliament. Pedestrian traffic on the sidewalks of Stadiou Street is generally comfortable; however, in some spots, they are narrow, due to construction site barriers. It is the street that was ‘hit’ by the financial crisis more than any other, and the traces of that period are still visible to this day. Back then, it was a commercially dead street, dimly lit, with closed shops covered by metal shutters, and many homeless people taking refuge in the arcades of abandoned buildings. Tragedies and destruction were not absent, either due to intense social unrest or even provocation —a mainly state- practice that thrived during those years. This situation has been gradually changing; however, Stadiou remains a monument to the era when Athens violently lost the vibrancy of a metropolis, sinking exponentially into decline.

What I can't see

The uprisings and bloody events on Stadiou Street are not a recent phenomenon. It was here, where student Sotiris Petroulas was strangled by police, during a demonstration in 1965. A little further down the street, in the then building of the ‘Postal, Telegraph and Telephone Company’ (later OTE), the first strike and protest against impoverishment and famine in Nazi occupied Athens —and the first of its kind in Europe— took place. Even earlier, the street was a scene of fierce and bloody clashes between supporters of rival political parties. Stadiou Street had already been included in the city’s earliest urban plans, with the original intention of urban planners Kleanthis and Schaubert being for the street to reach the Panathenaic Stadium—hence its name, which means Stadium’s Street. The road was initially in poor condition and difficult to cross. It was traversed by a stream, over which wooden, and later stone bridges were built. The area was so undervalued at the time that when plots were expropriated on Adrianou Street (in the Ancient Agora area) for archaeological excavations and compensation was offered in the form of land on Stadiou Street, the owners reacted strongly. The area had been home to the royal stables, and over time hotels and stores developed, mainly regarding men’s clothing, footwear, and other related products. Indeed, press of the time stated that Stadiou Street “is dedicated exclusively to men, while Ermou Street is for women”. The Greek refugees of 1922 used to set up temporary market stalls and shops that caused the frustration of the local upper class. Stadiou Street was also home to the city’s first kiosk (on the corner of Stadiou and Aeolou Streets). These kiosks were an initiative of Queen Olga, intended to provide disabled veterans of the Balkan Wars with a means of livelihood. Additionally, shortly after 1940, the city’s first traffic light was installed here and operated manually by a traffic officer using a lever.

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