Beit Beirut

The Museum and Urban Cultural Center of Beirut
بيت بيروت

Bayt Beirut in 2019
Location within Beirut Beit Beirut (Lebanon)
Location	Beirut, Lebanon
Coordinates	33.886961°N 35.508395°E / 33.886961; 35.508395
Website	beitbeirut.org

The Museum and Urban Cultural Center of Beirut or colloquially; Bayt Beirut/Barakat (Arabic: بيت بيروت / بركات; literally "the house of Beirut/Barakat") is a war memorial museum and urban artwork exhibition center dedicated to portraying the history of Beirut, with a particular focus on the Lebanese Civil War. Housed in the restored Barakat building, also known as the "Yellow House," this historic landmark was designed by Lebanese pioneer architect Youssef Aftimus.

Historical Context

Construction and Early Years (1924-1975)

The Barakat House, known today as Beit Beirut, was constructed in 1924 by Nicholas Barakat and his wife Victoria, members of Beirut’s Greek Orthodox bourgeoisie, who purchased the land, plot number 1237, and commissioned Youssef Aftimus, a notable Lebanese architect who designed the Beirut's City Hall, for the construction of the building with Aftimus designing the ground and first floors. The building is an example of neoclassical Greek-Latin architecture, designed by Aftimos and later completed by his student, Fouad Kozah. It was intended for mixed use, with residential apartments and commercial spaces, embodying the urban growth and modernization of Beirut during the French Mandate period.

In 1932, the Barakat Building was expanded with the addition of the second and third floors, designed by Kozah. The building, often referred to as the “Yellow House” due to its distinctive yellow façade, features two main structures: one facing Independence Avenue and the other facing Damascus Street. These structures are linked by a colonnade that opens to the sky, offering expansive views of the cityscape from various rooms within the building. The architectural transparency and openness of the design are among its most distinctive features along with the colorful cement tils patterns and sun-washed with pink, yellow, green, and blue walls.

The top floor of the Barakat Building was occupied by the Barakat family until the onset of the Lebanese Civil War in 1975. The ground and first floors were rented out to various tenants, including residents, storekeepers, a hair designer named Ephrem Zgheib who reopened his shop in 1998 after a 20-year hiatus, a Palestinian family, and a dentist named Neijib Chemaly, who passed away in 1973.

The Lebanese Civil War (1975-1990)

The Lebanese Civil War, lasting from 1975 to 1990, was a multifaceted conflict involving numerous factions and militias, each supported by different sectarian, political, and foreign interests. The war officially began on April 13, 1975, with an incident involving the Phalangists, a Christian militia, and a bus carrying Palestinians. This marked the start of a brutal and protracted conflict that would devastate Lebanon.

During the early years of the war, Beirut was divided into East and West, with the Barakat Building located along the infamous Green Line that separated the Christian-dominated East Beirut from the Muslim-dominated West Beirut. The building, originally a family residence and later a defensive position for Christian militias, became symbolic of the wartime divide. Overlooking the Sodeco crossroad, it became notorious as a sniper's nest, contributing to its nickname, the "Yellow House." The building was abandoned by its residents and quickly became a critical position for snipers and militias due to its strategic location of the Damascus Road, the de facto demarcation of the Green Line dividing the Christian East and Muslim West sides of the city of Beirut. The Lebanese Civil War, which began in 1975, saw the rise of various militias, including Maronite Catholic and Shiite groups like Hizbollah. The conflict intensified with Israel's 1982 invasion, leading to further devastation and the infamous Sabra and Shatila massacre. The Barakat Building's façade and interior bore the scars of war, with bullet holes and other damage becoming physical reminders of the conflict.

The Taif Agreement in 1989 eventually brought an end to the fighting, but it did not address the deeper issues of reconciliation and justice. An amnesty law passed in 1991 provided immunity to many wartime leaders, allowing them to transition into political roles without being held accountable for their actions during the war. This legal framework institutionalized a form of collective amnesia, making it challenging for Lebanon to heal from its past.

Post-War Neglect and Preservation Efforts (1990s-2000s)

The Civil War devastated the Barakat Building and neglect took its toll on the structure, which became the scene of repeated acts of vandalism. It was slated for demolition in 1997 when the owners decided to sell the property. It was saved by Lebanese heritage activists, particularly architect Mona Hallak who first investigated the house in 1994 during one of her visits with the "Association pour la Protection des Sites et Anciennes Demeures au Liban" (APSAD), an independent organisation for the protection of historic monuments and buildings. Activists had articles about the structure published in the press almost on a daily basis, wrote petitions, and organized rallies in front of the building. Protestations finally led to the suspension of the decision to destroy the building.

Restoration and Cultural Significance (2003-Present)

Barakat building in the process of renovation in 2009

In 2003 the municipality of Beirut issued a decree of expropriation for public interest. The decree stated that the Barakat building will be restored to accommodate a memory museum and a cultural center (which will later be known as "Beit Beirut") with objects tracing the 7000-year history of the city. The decree also provisions the construction of a modern annex to the building on the empty lot around it, which will house offices of the municipality's urban planning department as well as an underground parking lot. The French government provided technical assistance to the Beirut municipality but the cultural specialists who were supposed to visit and counsel on the museum's development were delayed because of the 2006 and 2007 Lebanon conflicts and political instability. The Beit Beirut project was delayed until the return of relative political stability in 2008. The project saw the collaboration between the municipality of Beirut, the City of Paris and the French embassy in Lebanon. In 2009, Lebanese architect Youssef Haider was commissioned by the Beirut municipality to lead the building's restoration works. Even though Haidar had experience in rehabilitation as he had previously worked on the restoration of traditional buildings in downtown Beirut and Tripoli, his selection was contested since he was chosen without having recourse to an open competition. Haidar was assisted by a committee of architects formed by the Municipality of Paris; this committee has worked to develop the rehabilitation project of the museum and is formed by members from a variety of disciplines. Beit Beirut was slated to open in 2013 but didn't open until April 28, 2016; planning and restoration costs amounted to 18 million US dollars.

Beit Beirut temporarily re-opened to the public in August 2017, despite lacking staff, services and direction. The troubled opening of the museum was marred by unsettled questions about the contents of the exhibition and its narrative.

Description

The Barakat building is built in the Ottoman revivalist style with ochre colored Deir al-Qamar limestone which gave the building its name. The building consists of two four-story high-end residential blocks in addition to a roof terrace. The two blocks' facades are joined together by an open colonnade adorned with wrought iron work. The blocks are separated by a central atrium connecting to the main entrance to the landscaped garden in the backyard and to the buildings' staircases. The Barakat building stands on Damascus road, where a tramway station once stood.

Significance and function

During the reconstruction phase that followed the Lebanese civil war, many important buildings were demolished. Activists were able to save a number of individual structures. The Barakat building with its bullet-peppered colonnade and façade became a dominant symbol of the civil war in Beirut. Historians and sociologists have observed that a Lebanese tendency to disremember the civil war and its episodes that don't figure in the Lebanese history curriculum. The last chapter in the Lebanese history textbooks address the withdrawal of French colonial forces from Lebanon in 1946. Lebanese intellectuals and architects lobbying to save the Barakat building argued that the creation of a collective memory and a unified account of the civil war would help the Lebanese to move forward and mend the societal divisions. In 2007, then Beirut's mayor Abdel Menem al-Aris affirmed that the prospected memory museum will showcase the city’s history and most notably the civil war. Although part the exterior is slated for renovation, the ground and first floors of the Barakat building's ruined façade will be kept in its decrepit state, to serve as a reminder of the city's wartime history. Bullet holes and sniper barricades are to be kept in their original places as well as the belongings of Fouad Chemali, a local dentist who occupied an apartment in the building's first floor since 1943. The Beit Beirut second floor is to function as a permanent exhibition which recounts the history of Beirut from the nineteenth century onward. The upper floors house a multifunctional hall for temporary cultural, artistic and musical events.

Exhibitions and Community Events

Beit Beirut serves as a dynamic cultural hub, hosting a range of exhibitions and community events that reflect the city's rich history, artistic talent, and ongoing dialogue about memory and reconciliation. These events include art exhibitions, photography contests, and thematic projects that address significant historical and contemporary issues. The following table provides an overview of notable exhibitions and community events held at Beit Beirut:

Date	Event/Exhibition	Description	Source
13 Apr 2017	"Empty Chairs, Family Waiting"	Organized by the NGO "Act for The Disappeared" and the International Committee of the Red Cross, focusing on the theme of the missing from the Lebanese civil war.
18 Sep – 27 Oct 2017	"Sacred Catastrophe: Healing Lebanon"	An art exhibition by Lebanese artist Zena El-Khalil, which explored themes of memory, reconciliation, and healing, offering an artistic approach to these complex subjects.
15–21 May 2018	"Nazra" Photography Contest	Supported by the German Embassy and organized by a UN Agency, focusing on visual representations related to the Lebanese civil war.
15 Sep 2022	Allo Beirut - Art Exhibition	The project aims to use art and journalism to cultivate a sense of belonging, to question the past, and to envision the future for Lebanon.
Jun 2023	UNIFIL Photo Exhibition	A photo exhibition highlighting UNIFIL's work in Lebanon.
10-30 Aug 2023	"Chronicle of Three Wars" Art Exhibition by Ralph Hage	Featuring the works of Ralph Hage, the exhibition, curated by Maie El-Hage, offers an exploration of Lebanon’s modern and contemporary histories, marked by tragedies, catastrophes, and the persistent anticipation of war.
01 Oct 2023	"Beirut 1840-1918 Photographs & Maps"	An exhibition featuring photographs and maps from Beirut's history.

Other names

Initially known as "The Barakat House", the structure was also dubbed "The Yellow House" due to the yellow ochre color of the sandstone. The name of the building changed with the alteration of its function; it was called 'The Building of Death" or "The Sniper's Lair" during the civil war due to its strategic location of the Green Line serving as the line of demarcation dividing the Muslim West Beirut from the Christian East Beirut. The cultural center hosted in the building was first called "Museum of memory" and "Beit al Madina" (the house of the city) before settling for "Beit Beirut" (the house of Beirut).