Beginning in 1950 with the First Master Plan and utilizing newfound wealth after the discovery of oil in 1938, Kuwait City began a destructive process of modern urbanization. Only a few pre-oil historic sites survived this process. As this Kuwait Time article discusses, the 1970s until the Iraqi invasion in 1990 is considered the “Golden Era” of Kuwait. Many noteworthy buildings were constructed during this time, but now many of these buildings have begun to be demolished, a similar fate to their pre-oil predecessors. According to the article Acquiring Modernity, Acquiring Meaning, “since 2003, Kuwait has been experiencing another building boom that has resulted in a renewed process of mass demolition, as occurred during the post-1950 construction craze. This time, it is the early oil landscape itself that is being demolished to make way for something newer still.”

Here are some modern sites around Kuwait, past and present:

The poster above is from Raw Eco and is entitled “Kuwait’s Forgotten Modernity.” The book Modern Architecture Kuwait was published in 2016 and is a study of modernist buildings in the country built between 1949 and 1989.

According to Modern Architecture Kuwait, the Kuwait National Cinema Company was established in 1954 and in ’55 the first cinema in Kuwait, al-Sharqia, opened. In 1958, Al-Hamra cinema opened, designed by Egyptian architect Sayyed Karim. It was demolished in the early 2000s and today the site is occupied by Al Hamra tower. The old photos come from this flickr and in the instagram of Ali Al Rais. Acquiring Modernity writes, “the iconic Al-Hamra and Firdous Cinemas in Kuwait City were among Kuwait’s first modern movie theaters… one showing American and European films and the other Arabic and Hindi movies. These cinemas represented Kuwaitis’ earliest encounters not only with modern entertainment, but also with international popular culture. Both cinemas were recently knocked down to make way for the new Al-Hamra skyscraper and mall, taking with them our memories of the cultural excitement of that time.” Today you can visit the 1954 Film House which, “celebrates the luxurious golden age of cinema.”

Al-Andalus cinema opened in Hawally in 1960. It, too, was demolished and today the site is occupied by Al-Muhallab mall. The old photos of the cinema were found 248 and eBay. The final image comes from Bader Alshaiji who writes, “Beirut Street is one of the most important and longest streets.” You can see the cinema on the left.

The Ahmadi cinema opened in 1966, the building still stands today. The black and white photo comes from this tumblr, color from twitter. Ahmadi also once had a drive-in theater, but it has since been demolished [the photos from before its demolition come from 248].

The Thunayan Al-Ghanim Building was completed in 1959, it was the first multi-story building in Kuwait and one of the first to have an elevator. You can see photographs of the interior here. According to Iridescent Kuwait by Laura Hindelang, “in March 1969, Kuwait’s, and in the fact the Gulf’s, first art gallery opened in the iconic Thunayan Al Ghanim building on the roundabout leading to Fahad al-Salem Street with a show of works by Munira al-Kazi (Kuwait) and Issam al-Said (Iraq). The Sultan Gallery… would continue to show modern young Arab artists and sometimes also Western artists, such as Andy Warhol in 1977, to create networks of artistic exchange across the Arab world and beyond.” Old postcards were found on eBay and I took the other photos.

The Holy Family Cathedral, located in Kuwait City, was built in 1966

Sheraton opened a branch in 1966 in Kuwait, its first hotel in an Arab country. It still stands by the roundabout with the Jahra Gate, but has since been significantly changed, here is how it once looked:

The Hilton was also built in the 1960s, but demolished in 2003

This photograph dates to 1961 and comes from Brett Jordan. You can see that there used to be a hotel “Al Ahram” located in Mubarakiya along New Street.

Another hotel was the Phoenicia, located along Fahad Al Salem. You can read about its discotheque.

Two other old hotels were the Carlton and the Bristol. These old images were mostly found on eBay. Listed on abebooks are books from the mid-1960s, “Motoring in the Middle East.” The section about Kuwait gives the address for these hotels along with others.

There are hundreds of mosques in Kuwait, including many historic ones that were built before the discovery of oil. Those tend to have a similar architectural style, but Kuwait’s modern mosques are quite diverse.

The Hassawi Complex, located in Hawally, built between 1968 and 1973

The Pearl Al Marzouq was built between 1968 and 1971. In recent years it was renovated. Adel Al-Bloushi writes that, “the Pearl Al-Marzouq complex, a modernist beacon built on a privileged site right on the tip of the small Ras-Al-Salmiya peninsula, underwent a facelift that was intended to lift it out of decay—the curse of the aftermath of modernism, it seems—and make it relevant to the contemporary architectural scene.” Nearby is the abandoned Qasser Nasser Al Sabah, which you cannot enter but can see photographs on the blog of Maha Alessa.

The Gulf Bank Building, located in Kuwait City, was built between 1969 and 1974. This article states that, “Gulf Bank’s iconic building stands out on the Kuwaiti architectural landscape due to its outer facade. The design was inspired by the sea, using ‘accropode’ type structures which are designed to resist the actions of waves.” Below you can also see an image of accropodes along the beach outside Seif Palace today. “The Bank’s outer facade provides a solution to the country’s harsh climate conditions by providing shading from sun exposure and heat, in addition to being uniquely inspired by marine elements used by protection of break waters.” As the Danish explorer Barclay Raunkiær said in 1913, “Kuwait is emphatically a town of the desert and the sea” which the architecture of this building beautifully references.

Here is an old postcard, seen on eBay:

According to Modern Architecture Kuwait, the Kuwait Airways Tower was completed in 1972 and at that point was the tallest building in the city. It has since been demolished.

In the modern urbanization of Kuwait, “brutalist souqs” and modern shopping complexes were constructed throughout Kuwait City, including Manakh (1975), Safat (1975), Kuwait (1976), Kabeer (1976), Al-Masseel (1979), Wataniya (1979), Awqaf (1982), Al Muthanna (1985)

31 in total, the Kuwait Water Towers were completed in 1976. According to UNESCO they represent, “a nation-wide network of infrastructural water supply and reservoirs which consist of water towers (known as the mushroom towers) that are strategically distributed in groups around the country, and are connected to the distribution grid of the two already built distillation seawater plants. This ambitious national project was part of the country’s large scale modernization process undergoing since the first shipment of oil in 1946, and essential to ensure an effective system of water distribution to a growing population, until then supplied by tank trucks.”

Completed in 1979, the “Kuwait Towers stands as the undisputed national symbol and one of the most recognizable landmarks in Kuwait, an embodiment of the nation’s dramatic economic and urban development after the discovery of oil. Today, the Towers have become an integral element of the Kuwait City skyline.” They were designed by Malene Bjørn. They are currently on the tentative list to become a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

In 1980 the JW Marriott Kuwait City opened. Beginning in 2021, it began to be renovated/expanded

When the old mudbrick wall was torn down in 1957, Kuwaitis were moved out of the historic center into new suburbs. In her work Kuwait Transformed, Farah Al Nakib writes that, “suburbanization and the mandatory vacating of the city center by its former inhabitants constituted the most considerable urban transformation of the early oil years. Dislocation from the urban center was not optional for city residents.” Al Sawaber Complex was built in 1981 as “attempt to renationalize Kuwait City.” It was demolished in 2019.

The Port Authority, located in Shuwaikh, built between 1984 and 1992

Another notable modern building is the Arab Organizations’ Headquarters Building, built in 1994. According to a book on the building, it was designed to “symbolize Arab unity” by featuring styles from throughout MENA. It boasts many artifacts, some dating back to the Mamluk period. The AWARE Center organizes tours of the building.