There’s a photo making the rounds on the internet. A row of schoolchildren sit cross-legged on a shady sidewalk — it looks like they’re on a field trip. And above them is a big neon sign: GoGo Girls Strip Club.
This is one of those things that could only happen on Allenby Street, where the mundane rubs up against the city’s underbelly. This, combined with the decaying beauty of the street’s eclectic style architecture, makes Allenby Street more than just gritty. It elevates it to the grotesque.
Allenby street is one of the city’s main thoroughfares. The Carmel Market, the stores full of cheap trinkets, and the cafes and bars make it one of the most touristy streets. It leads from South Tel Aviv, where Tel Aviv meets Jaffa, and runs all the way to the sea. Even as it intersects the most upscale streets, like the tree-lined Rothschild Boulevard, Allenby maintains its grungy integrity.
As Tel Aviv tour guide Shalom Kleiman says, “People are just like any other liquid: they form at the bottom of the sink” — and those are exactly the types you’ll find on Allenby Street.
Produced by Shoshi Shmuluvitz
Interviews:
Shalom Kleiman – tour guide
Ben Peter – proprietor of HaTzalmania Photohouse
Ori Shtark – Allenby 58 club owner
Liron Noy – Rock Bar owner
Yosef Halper – owner of Halper’s Books
Music:
ESG – You’re no good
Carole King – You’re so far away
HaGingiot – Allenby 79
Aviv Gedge – Allenby blues
In the background:
Takuya Kuroda – Rising Sun
Yann Tiersen - Comptine d’un Autre Été: L’Après Midi
I-Cube – Disco Cubizm (Daft Punk remix)
David Shire – Theme from ‘The Conversation’