Gabriel Berouti’s Demolished Mansion in Jaffa: A 1930 Architectural Plan

I cannot thank the Geday family enough for sharing this remarkable archival discovery: the architectural plan of Gabriel Berouti’s stunning mansion in the Jabal Araktingi neighborhood of Jaffa. The plan carries the signature of the famed Palestinian engineer Abdallah Mitri, who served as the building contractor. The images below show the four façades of the mansion, the main floor plan, and a section of the interior. Gabriel Berouti’s signature in Arabic is also visible on the bottom right corner of some of the sheets.

Architectural plan of Gabriel Berouti’s building — south façade (main entrance)

Architectural plan of Gabriel Berouti’s building — north façade

Architectural plan of Gabriel Berouti’s building — east façade

Architectural plan of Gabriel Berouti’s building — west façade

Architectural plan of Gabriel Berouti’s building — section of building

Architectural plan of Gabriel Berouti’s building — ground floor plan

Many thanks to my architect nephew, Jad Beyrouti, for matching each of the four sides of the building with its corresponding façade.

After Gabriel’s death in 1934, the ownership was transferred to his only child, Antoine (Tony) Berouti. According to Nasri Talamas, this was indeed the house in which he lived, though he noted the final construction looked slightly different. His family, as well as the Gargour family, the Boureau family, and Najla Tyan, each rented a section of this residence from Tony Berouti.

Below is a still frame from Maryse Gargour’s documentary Encounter with a Lost Land, showing the completed building where the families mentioned in the previous paragraph once lived. As Nasri noted, some details differ from the original architectural plan. For example, the south façade of the finished structure does not feature a veranda on the second floor but instead an enclosed projection. In addition, the completed west façade is mostly lined with arches, which differs from what appears in the architectural plan.

The completed building of Gabriel Berouti in Jaffa, home before the Nakba to the Talamas family, the Boureau family, the Gargour Family, and Najla Tyan. The date of the photograph is unknown.

Tragically, despite its splendor (or perhaps because of it), this majestic building was completely demolished by the Israelis in the early to mid-1980s. Today, the lot where it once stood contains another house, as shown in the image below.

This is the house built on the same lot where Gabriel Berouti’s mansion once stood. Google Image captured in 2019.