Beirut City Hall

Previously located in the Petit Serail on Martyrs’ Square, Beirut's Municipality building, constructed in 1925 on Weygand Street was the masterpiece of Youssef Aftimos.

Conforming to the Neo-Moorish revivalist school – Youssef Aftimos being its main protagonist in Lebanon – its architecture expressed a reaction against the westernization of the country as well as the need to establish a more local or regional identity.

A text inscribed on the building's entrance reflects this feeling: “These are the traces that identify us: seek out henceforth our traces.” Damaged and abandoned during the Civil War (1975-1990), the Municipality was restored by the year 2000.

Conforming to the Neo-Moorish revivalist school – Youssef Aftimos being its main protagonist in Lebanon – its architecture expressed a reaction against the westernization of the country since the late 19th century, as well as the need to establish a more local or regional identity.

A text inscribed on the building's entrance reflects this feeling: “These are the traces that identify us: seek out henceforth our traces.” Damaged and abandoned during the Civil War (1975-1990), the Municipality was restored by the year 2000.