The Anglia Hotel at Ermou street of Athens Beşçınar

The "Anglia" hotel was located on the right side at the beginning of Ermou Street, from Syntagma Square, at number 293 in 1875, and at number 2 in 1921. It was built in 1875 for the Syrian banker Psiaki, but was soon sold to the Destoúni or Festóuni family from Kefalonia. In the late 1890s, the first travel agency of Thomas Cook in Greece operated on the ground floor of the "Anglia" Hotel. The hotel's facilities included restaurants, a ballroom, a lounge, and a reading room. Between 1900 and 1905, a third floor was added to the hotel. In 1911, after the death of G. Leivadas, the hotel was acquired by Th. Petrakopoulos and S. Lampsas. The following year, the renovation of the "Anglia" hotel began, coinciding with the outbreak of the First Balkan War. In 1918, Petrakopoulos sold the business to K. Tsiomos, and in 1930 the hotel was bought by the Brown family, renamed "Neon Anglias," and renovated in 1932. From 1940, the hotel was managed by Eleni Brown, and at that time, the hotel spanned three floors, with the fourth floor being the residence of the Brown family. The hotel building was demolished in 1960 or 1961. Today, a modern building stands in its place, and fast food restaurants operate in the ground floor spaces. Pictured: Ermou Street in Athens in 1890. The Royal Palace can be seen in the background and the "Anglia" Hotel on the left side. ©Municipal Photography Museum of Kalamaria ‘Christos Kalemkeris’.