Historic Levantine mansion to open doors in 2024

İZMİR

The western province of İzmir’s largest Levantine mansion, long neglected and formerly owned by a family engaged in trade during the Ottoman era, will open its doors to visitors as a museum and cultural art space in the first half of 2024.

Carrying out the restoration efforts of the 164-year-old Paterson Mansion, a significant example of the city's civil architecture, the İzmir Municipality will hand over the mansion to the Culture and Tourism Ministry when the works are completed.

Can Yıldızhan, the head of the historical buildings department at the İzmir municipality’s Cultural Directorate, stated that their primary goal in the restoration process is to resurrect the structure without causing harm to the original and centuries-old architectural fabric that has endured to the present day.

"In the ongoing restoration of the Paterson Mansion, which consists of two sections, we have achieved an 80 percent completion rate in the restoration of the towered building, which spans three stories and has been entirely preserved. Through the process of scraping the plaster on the main building, we discovered that nearly the entire structure consisted of concrete extensions,” Yıldızhan explained.

"By removing all of these extensions and utilizing authentic materials according to the approved project, we have completed 55 percent of our efforts to restore the building. After completing the construction of the body walls, the next step is to undertake the roofing."

The original owner of the Paterson Mansion, a remarkable architectural gem of its time, was John Paterson Leith, a Scottish merchant. The mansion, which showcases a slice of 19th-century life in İzmir, was surrounded by high walls within a vast 133-acre garden during its construction. The grounds featured racehorses, livestock farms, a greenhouse and agricultural areas, along with various outbuildings. The mansion boasted 38 rooms adorned with imported English fireplaces and furniture, along with a staff of 60 servants. Presently, the mansion encompasses a vast area of 25,400 square meters. Until 1960, the structure served as a residence, after which it was repurposed as offices, lodgings and a carpet factory. In 1986, a significant portion of the main entrance section was severely damaged in a fire.