photos: Gerasimos Domenikos

 

Pireos Street is one of the historic streets of the wider area of Athens. It joins the center of city at Omonoia square with the port of Piraeus, crossing the municipalities of Tavros, Moschato and Rendi. It covers a distance of almost ten kilometers. The construction of the road began in 1834 on the reign of Otto, first king of the modern state of Greece, and it was initially paved for use by horses and wagons. In 1857, the gas factory was constructed giving its name to the Gazi district, establishing Pireos Street as one of the country's industrial development centers. Along the way, dozens of industries would be built by the middle of the 20th century, for to be abandoned and desertified gradually to this day. Museums were built in their place, art schools, cultural institutes, shopping malls and nightclubs, which along with the industrial ruins and the remaining commercial activity constitute a chaotic urban landscape characteristic of the modern Greek reality.