Murr Tower | OMAR HARB

Down General Fouad Chehab Avenue, the gray concrete Murr Tower pokes out of Beirut’s skyline nearly 40 years after it was built. Construction began in 1974, and by the war’s start in April 1975, 28 stories had been completed. Work continued on the tower, which was meant as office, retail and restaurant space, until it was halted in 1978 at 40 floors. Its height and placement over the “Green Line” that divided Muslim West Beirut from Christian East Beirut (religious divisions that have since proven overly simplistic) made it an ideal spot for snipers and rumors persist of militias throwing victims off of its heights. For years the empty Murr Tower was set for demolition but its fate is now uncertain, except as a hulking souvenir of the war and the commercial prospects of a prewar count.

El Murr Tower was built in the 1970s, and was the highest tower of its time, the 40-story building was built at a pace of one floor every day. El Murr Tower is located in the heart of Beirut and incorporates modern apartments and offices.

Functions :
1-ENA
2-National Archive Center
3-National Research Center
4-National Central Library
5-National Documentation Center
6-National Federation Center
7-National Memorial Center
8-National War Memorial Center
9-National War Research Center
10-National Conference Center
11-National Seminar Center