Tel Aviv during the 1960s

The Rise of Shalom Tower on the Historic Site of Gymnasia Herzliya

This 1965 view of Tel Aviv-Yafo captures the iconic Shalom Meir Tower midway through construction. Standing tall in the background, it was completed later that year as Israel’s first skyscraper.

But the ground it stands on holds an even deeper story. The tower was built directly on the site of the historic Gymnasia Herzliya—the country’s very first Hebrew high school. Founded in 1905 in Ottoman-era Jaffa, the school moved to Herzl Street in 1909, into a gorgeous building designed by Joseph Barsky and inspired by descriptions of Solomon’s Temple.

While the original building is gone, this photo perfectly captures a city constantly reinventing itself, blending the minarets of Old Yaffo with the rising concrete of modern Tel Aviv.

📸: National Photo Collection of Israel (Public Domain)