As a part of the vital restoration project in Khedival Cairo, Riham Arram, General Manager for Cairo Heritage Preservation General Administration has collaborated with Heliopolis district to revitalize the facades of heritage buildings, al-Ahram reported, with plans to transform several into open museums.
The Heliopolis district houses about 700 heritage buildings.
Brigadier Ahmed Anwar, President of Heliopolis referred to the project’s importance as it will add a special value to the district itself. He said that some that while some of these buildings have already been repaired, the real challenge comes from the inappropriate appearance of the surrounding buildings.
Anwar added that a general restoration project will be proposed to Cairo Governor Khaled Abel Aal for all heritage buildings in the district, which will qualify them to be open museums, according to al-Ahram. The project is also expected to include street development by providing further green spaces.
The Heliopolis renovation project will include the areas of Roxy, Khalifa Almaamoun, Othman Ibn Affan, Ismailia square and more.
Heliopolis is regarded as a host for various prominent historic buildings such as the Granda Building, al-Gamea Square, al-Korba heritage buildings, various churches considered architectural gems and the Baron Palace, part of which will be turned into a museum.
The Baron Palace
One fascinating building of note is the presidential palace, originally established as the Grand Heliopolis Palace Hotel in 1910.
The Normandy Outdoor Cinema is also considered another historic icon of Heliopolis.
In a previous interview with al-Watan news, Arram said that for buildings to be recorded as “heritage” they do not necessarily have to exceed 100 years of existence. She added that there are other measurements for buildings to be classified as “heritage”, including historical value or houses that are owned by public figures, like the house of the late prominent actor Mary Mounib located in Heliopolis.
Khedival Cairo has recently seen various renovations such as in al-Sherifen street, with many of the street’s banks, buildings having been beautifully restored.
The National Committee for Developing and Preserving Historic Cairo previously set a plan in 2018 to complete renovation of Alazbakeya Park in Central Cairo.
