Κυψέλη

Η Κυψέλη είναι περιοχή της Αθήνας στην 6η δημοτική κοινότητα του Δήμου Αθηναίων, με πληθυσμό περίπου 50.000 κατοίκων. Βρίσκεται 1,5 με 3 χιλιόμετρα βόρεια από την Πλατεία Ομονοίας,[1] ανατολικά της οδού Πατησίων και βόρεια του Πεδίου του Άρεως. Κέντρο της είναι η Πλατεία Κυψέλης, η οποία επισήμως φέρει την ονομασία «Πλατεία Κανάρη», προς τιμήν του ήρωα Κωνσταντίνου Κανάρη, ο οποίος κατοικούσε επί σειρά ετών στην περιοχή και συγκεκριμένα στη (σημερινή) οδό Κυψέλης 56, όπου υπάρχει αναμνηστική πλακέτα προς τιμήν του.

A clearly urban development of Kypseli began in the 1930s with the construction of family houses and the first modern apartment buildings in Athens. The development of apartment buildings was contemporary with Kolonaki and other central neighbourhoods. Although many of the earlier houses were built in a neoclassical or eclectic style, from the 1930s onwards, the designs of newer houses and apartment buildings were influenced by international trends such as modernism, Bauhaus and Art Deco.[3] Adjacent large green areas such as Pedion Areos and Fokionos Negri Street pushed Kypseli to become an upmarket district with many apartment buildings built until the 1960s that addressed to the middle and upper-middle class.[3][4]

In 1937 the municipal market of Kypseli on Fokionos Negri Street, designed by architect Alexandros Metaxas, was inaugurated by the dictator Ioannis Metaxas.[5][6] Moreover, the shops on the street level made Kypseli a shopping area. Shopping districts were Kypselis Square, Patission Street, Kypselis Street, Fokionos Negri Street and Amerikis Square. During the 1960s Kypseli also had a vibrant nightlife with many theatres and cinemas, restaurants and cafés, bars and clubs.[7]

Beginning in the 1980s many residents of Kypseli moved to the northern suburbs of Athens and, later, immigrants started using the basements and the small apartments of the buildings as cheap residences. Consequently, the value of real estate decreased even if high apartments on Fokionos Negri Street can be sold more expensively in comparison to the rest of the district.[1] Several areas have remained commercial such as Patission and Fokionos Negri Streets[1] and Kypseli is still known for its many theatres.