A curious detail: this style trend had no name for a long time, and back in the early 2000s, some art historians attributed such buildings to Art Nouveau, others to Modernism, and others to Neoclassicism. Nevertheless, the buildings that are now being considered part of the Art Deco architectural heritage are united by a clear geometry of forms, stepped and pyramidal compositions, as well as repeated decorative elements on the facade.All of these appeared in the project of Benjamin Ginzburg (aka Ben-Zion Ginzburg), an architect from Tel Aviv (samely under the British those days), who was going to have a great career in Cyprus. He must also have known that Art Deco style was then often chosen for government buildings, such as the state capitols of Nebraska and Oregon in the United States or Palace of Soviets skyscraper that they were building back then in Moscow.

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The City Hall is one of the first public Art Deco buildings on the island and in a somewhat indecisive transitional expression. The building was warmly received, although the architect and local connoisseur Tasos Andreou found a note in the newspaper: during the opening ceremony someone started to blame the architect that the balustrade of the house — in the traditional Ancient Roman form — resembles the British flag. Funnily enough, when today’s art historians have to explain this ancient art form, they also use its resemblance with the Union Jack.

Benjamin Ginzburg continued to build in Cyprus. In Limassol, among his well-known public buildings there is the Rialto Cinema, as well as the recently demolished Kurion Palace Hotel. You may see his best house in my “Vanishing Homes” route in Larnaca.