Malakopi Arcade

The impressive building in ‘Frangomachalas’ of Thessaloniki is a work of the Italian architect Vitaliano Poselli and was built in 1906 on behalf of Allatini family, one of the most powerful Jewish families in Thessaloniki. It comprised the main building and garden in the southern part of the plot. At the point where the garden was, the Arcade, together with other shops and offices, was created to house the Bank of Thessaloniki. The building, founded by brothers Allatini, was saved from the great fire of 1917 but was definitively closed down when it was requisitioned by the Nazis in 1940. An interesting element of the Arcade is the front pediment clock, which stopped at 11:05, the time that the great earthquake occurred in Thessaloniki in 1978. Today, restaurants and bars operating in the Malakopi Arcade and the surrounding area, have given a second life in the building, turning it into one of the most popular nightlife hangouts of Thessaloniki.