Skip to Main Content

Beirut's Heritage Buildings

This guide aims to list some of Beirut's heritage buildings and provide resources to assist researchers with their needs on this specific topic.

Located on Abdel Wahab Al Inglizi's Street, Messarra House was built in 1890 with its unique architecture and warm colors.

                      Messara House

                     Source: https://www.facebook.com/406372696826317/posts/452075455589374/


Located on Abdel Wahab Al Inglizi's Street, one of Beirut's oldest and most charming neighborhoods, Albergo Hotel is a refurbished Ottoman house. The mansion, an architectural reminiscence of the 1930s, is a three-arch heritage house that opened its doors in 1998.

          Albergo Hotel      Albergo Hotel

                                                                           Source: https://365daysoflebanon.com/2016/04/12/the-hotel/

Villa Assouad, located in Achrafieh, is a 1500sqm 19th century 4-level mammoth mansion with a garden and a pool was architecturally renovated in 2014 to bring back its traditional personality.

                        Villa Assouad

                        Source: https://www.busyboo.com/2018/05/23/oriental-villa-renovation/

Masabni Building, on Shukri Al Asli Street, Al Hayek Sector, was built in 1932.

                       قد تكون صورة لـ ‏مبانٍ‏

                       Source: https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=10158920281070365&set=gm.1110083522761651

A 19th century traditional house in Rue du Liban sector. The triple arcade, balcony and some of the ceilings were heavily damaged during the Beirut blast on August 4, 2020. These are being repaired in partnership with Beirut Heritage Initiative.    

                           قد تكون صورة لـ ‏مبانٍ‏

                          Source: https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10157236047861152&set=pcb.10157236048261152

Formerly known as the Barakat Building, Beit Beirut is a war-ravaged early 1900s neo-Ottoman apartment (which became a notorious sniper’s nest during the civil war), is now restored into Lebanon's first memory museum. It is recognized from the outside as the swiss-cheese looking building at the corner of Damascus Street and Independence Avenue which marked the 'border' between the East and West of Beirut.

Mona El Hallak, an architect and activist, lobbied to save the building since the 1990s since it was days away from demolition. El Hallak was granted a medal of honor from the French government for her efforts to preserve this building as a cultural space. 

                          Beit Beirut (formerly Barakat Building)

                          Source: https://yalibnan.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/barakat-building-400x271.jpg

Tueni-Bustros-Sehnaoui villa is one of the few preserved villas in Achrafieh. Built in 1863 by Tueni family, then owned by Bustros family, this villa is currently owned by former minister Nicolas Sehnaoui.

                Villa Tueni-Bustros

                Source: https://imginn.com/p/B0dhxhrhpSj/