To expand in the markets of the Middle East and the Balkan region, British Columbia Graphophone Company, later known as Columbia Records, decided to operate a factory in Athens, Greece. Built between 1928 and 1930 in an area of 3,5 acres (14,000 sq. meters), the Columbia factory produced gramophones, vinyl records, radios and later cassettes for over 50 years. In 1935 a recording studio, the first in Greece, also opened inside the factory.
Being the only record production facility in the region, more record companies, such as His Master's Voice (later EMI), Odeon, and Parlophone chose to produce their records there. Columbia factory saw its golden years between the 1950s and the 1980s. Hundreds of Greek music records were produced there during this time. The factory's success however was mainly due to the exports of records and later cassettes to the Middle East, especially Lebanon and Egypt. By 1978, 350 people were working in the factory while the exports proceeds were about 5 million dollars per year.
Columbia's recording studio closed in 1983 and the whole factory was shut down by 1991. In 2006 it was decided that one of the 7 buildings would be preserved in order to be turned into a museum while the rest of the factory would be demolished. Activists and politicians vowed to resist any development plans in the area and until today the Columbia factory remains abandoned.
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solar panels...?
ReplyDeleteIs there access to the inside of the building or is it closed?
ReplyDeleteI really want to know, I'm interested in some photo shoots of the place
ReplyDeleteI've visit the place today, it's completely trashed and littered by refugees.
ReplyDeleteThere was not much left to make pictures from. Only lots of graffiti
This is a microcosm of the Greek Governments ineptness. The greatest Greek singers and song writers passed through these doors and instead of turning this shrine into a museum and charging a small fee for entry our Greek politicians let it become a squatters den. What you see in these photos is Government at its best... it's a damn shame...
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