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All Greece Athens Pittaki Street
Pittaki Street is permanently closed.

This entry remains in the Atlas as a record of its history, but it is no longer accessible to visitors.

Pittaki Street

150 or so scrounged-up lamps, chandeliers, and lanterns light up this alley in central Athens.

Athens, Greece

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joel
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Pittaki Street.   sixtwelve
Pittaki Street by day.   leiris / Atlas Obscura User
Little Kook cafe at the end of the street is well worth a visit!   douglasjtimpe / Atlas Obscura User
Circus bar/cafe at end of Pittaki Street   poguecat / Atlas Obscura User
Circus bar/cafe at end of Pittaki Street   poguecat / Atlas Obscura User
  Collector of Experiences / Atlas Obscura User
Pittaki Street.   Boreio Selas
Pittaki Street by day.   leiris / Atlas Obscura User
Pittaki Street as of Sep 12, 2017–Lights off   poguecat / Atlas Obscura User
Pittaki Street in May   Gloria Tyree / Atlas Obscura User
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About

Before 2012, Pittaki Street was an industrial alleyway that pedestrians avoided at all costs. Though Psyrri is a lively neighborhood, the streets surrounding Pittaki Street were filled mostly with warehouses and industrial sites. The alley was occasionally referred to as a public toilet.

That all changed when the non-profit Imagine the City and the creative lighting studio Beforelight teamed up to give Pittaki Street a makeover. In order to restore foot traffic to the neighborhood, they collected unused light fixtures from all over Athens to cast light into the shadows of the grimy little alleyway.

Athenians volunteered lights of all kinds, which reflected the city's multicultural identity in their variety. Midcentury metal lamps, Chinese paper lanterns, 1940s floral and fringed lampshades, stained glass lamps, Moroccan mirrored shades, and the requisite Ikea lamps were all donated to the project. Volunteers painted the alley in soft pastels, with homey scenes of kitchen and living room furniture and on a rainy evening in November of 2012 the lights were turned on. The hodgepodge of lamps cast a glow across the formerly gloomy Pittaki Street. 

Since then, the alley has become a cheery hub of Psyrri. People walk through it regularly, pose for photos, and there are even events staged there. Boutiques that failed on busier streets thrive here thanks to the heavy foot traffic. Pittaki Street has gone from Athens' toilet to its living room.

Related Tags

Alleyways Art Installations Roads Lightning

Know Before You Go

As of April 2019, almost all of the lamps are gone.

Community Contributors

Added By

leiris

Edited By

poguecat, Molly McBride Jacobson, douglasjtimpe, Collector of Experiences...

  • poguecat
  • Molly McBride Jacobson
  • douglasjtimpe
  • Collector of Experiences
  • Gloria Tyree

Published

May 10, 2017

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Sources
  • http://articles.latimes.com/2013/oct/11/world/la-fg-greece-pittaki-lights-20130919
  • https://www.citylab.com/design/2013/01/if-only-all-city-lighting-looked-charming-street-athens/4473/
  • http://www.ekathimerini.com/146290/article/ekathimerini/community/transforming-pittaki-street
  • http://greektv.com/pittaki-street-a-new-paradigm-for-the-city/
  • http://popupcity.net/bright-intervention-spices-up-shady-street-in-athens/
Pittaki Street
Pittaki 2
Athens
Greece
37.977148, 23.7248
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