History
In the late 1930s, the city council decided to build a promenade for separation between bathing areas and hiking or promenading paths. It extended from Bugrashov beach to where Geula beach is located nowadays. The introduction of the promenade was a turning point in common perception of the city's coastline.
At the same time, World War II started in September 1939, and the British Mandate Regime prohibited bathing in the beach. As a result of that, the city's beaches were abandoned and neglected. In addition, the developing new city was pouring its sewage to the sea and the beaches were banned for bathing for sanitary reasons. Seaside hotels and cafés were turning into questionable bars, gambling joints and brothels. The public abstained from the area, and the city's recreational centers were transferred to the city center, to streets such as Dizengoff Street. In 1942, London Square was founded in the northern part of the promenade. In 1953, Gan-haAtsmaut (Independence Garden) was founded on the gravel hill above Hilton beach. In 1965, at the time of the opening of the port of Ashdod, the ports of Tel Aviv and Jaffa were closed.
In the 1980s, the Dan District Sewage treatment facility was founded, and the sewage was transferred to the plant and not to the sea. That enabled the cleansing of the beaches and preparations to be made in order to open them again to the public for bathing. At that period, tombolo breakwaters were placed, causing significant expansion of the beaches allowing a greater number of attenders to enter. In the scope of the project, beach facilities were restored and reopened.
Currently, the city municipality is advancing a project to join the promenade sections into one continuous platform.
Read more about this topic: Tel Aviv Promenade
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