About the project
The Walter & Elise Haas Promenade is the central portion of a major promenade constructed on the ridges of southeastern Jerusalem, providing views to the Old City and beyond. The promenade is one of the city’s key recreational and tourist sites.The idea for an open, public area came from American architect Louis Kahn, who served on the Jerusalem Committee following the city’s 1967 re-unification. In a later interview, Kollek recalled, “The government and the city wanted to build four or five high-rise hotels that would overlook the city. And I said what should we build here, and he said, ‘I’ll give you advice: don’t build anything. Leave it empty. This is how the promenade came about…” The $3 million project was designed by US-based architect Lawrence Halprin with Israeli landscape architect Shlomo Aronson.The 18-foot wide promenade with plazas, seating areas and lighting stands atop a viaduct with an adjoining restaurant. The promenade adjoins the previously constructed Sherover Promenade to the west and the Richard & Rhoda Goldman Promenade (completed in 2001) to the east. The promenade was dedicated on Jerusalem Day 1987, the 20th anniversary of the reunification of the city. Jubilee IV, a sculpture by English artist Lynn Chadwick (1914-2003) was erected near the main plaza entrance to the promenade in 1989. Chadwick, who was born in 1914 and reached his heyday in the 1950s and 1960s, completed the bronze, semi-abstract sculpture of a promenading couple in 1984. Since the promenade’s completion, the Jerusalem Foundation has supported maintenance, repairs and improvements, including smoothing paving stones to make them more comfortable and constructing additional shade pergolas.
