As the title reflects, this building is nowadays called The Egg for its oval shape. Many people used to mistake it for a huge water tank, imagine!
The Egg was originally named City Center, built in 1965 by Lebanese architect Joseph Philippe Karam as part of a modernist wave pre-Lebanese Civil War (which lasted 15 years). The architect envisioned two large towers on either side of the cinema. Only one was built, and it didn’t survive the war.
Personally, I haven’t yet seen any building like this one. I am really glad that it is now considered a public space, especially after the revolution that took place in Lebanon in 2019, because people started discovering such buildings that have been abandoned since the Lebanese Civil War and locked away from the public.
Revolutionaries were showing movies inside of it for protestors, making it come to life amidst its bullet walls and abandoned concrete structure. I really encourage anyone visiting Beirut to visit this space and maybe have a cup of coffee with you or a book, preferably with some company (it is abandoned after all).
