Stadiou Street

Stadiou Street in Athens

Stadiou Street

Stadiou Street is one of the most important recipients of the city officials efforts public efforts to change the look of the city's streets during the recent years.

The results are impressive with clean, painted fronts of old neoclassical buildings, beautiful sidewalks, lamps and lighting design during the night that creates a feeling that one usually gets in the cities of Central Europe.

Hence, Stadiou street, that is parallel to Eleftherios Venizelos Street (or Panepistimiou Street), connects similarly to both squares, Omonoia and Syntagma.

Many theaters and movie houses are on this street and, a little before Syntagma Square there is Kolokotronis Square with General Kolokotronis statue and the National Historical Museum - where the Hellenic Parliament was housed many years before.

Stadiou Street took its name from the Panathenaic Stadium (Ancient Marble Stadium). In 1860, the river-stream called "Voidopnichti" was covered and turned into the current road. Of course, even today, water continues to flow underneath. The Athinogenis Mansion is adjacent to the Old Royal Printing house between Arsaki and Santarosa Streets and is one of the most imposing buildings of the Athenian bourgeoisie. Today, the Mansion, more than 130 years old, stands in ruins, half burned from a fire that broke out in May 2004.

The building of the Army Pension Fund is on the block of Stadiou Street - Amerikis Street - Eleftherios Venizelos Street - Voukourestiou Street, formerly the Royal Stables was converted into the well known Attica Department Store and Citylink.

Unfortunately, the area of Stadiou Street, in the past and recent times has suffered major setbacks due to fires. The historical movie theaters "Apollon" and "Atticon" were burned in 2011, during public uprisings. They will allegedly be reopened because their interiors are intact. Nearly 45 adjacent shops and many old buildings were not designated as preserved, so they are not being utilized as they deserve to be.