The building of the Cultural Venue of Islahane was erected in 1903 and formed part of the ottoman orphanage Islahane, which was founded in 1874 by the Muslim community of the city, destinated to all-religion orphan boys.

The school housed a carpenter workshop, a machine shop, a foundry and a smithery workshop, where orphans learned handicrafts.

After the liberation of Thessaloniki, the building?s ownership was handed over to the Greek State, which from 1920 onwards, rented the complex to private parties in order to accommodate functions similar to the workshops that were originally housed in the school.

In 1992, the building was characterized by the Ministry of Culture as a historical listed monument, equipment included.

In 2011, the restoration and reuse of the listed building as Cultural Venue was included in the Regional Operational Programme Macedonia-Thrace of the NSRF 2007-2013 and was completed in 2015.

Nowdays, the Cultural Venue of Islahane is a landmark not only for the local community, but also for the wider region.

It is equipped with a permanent multimedia exhibition that promotes the building?s history, as well as the importance of the historic neighborhood of the East Side walls of the city. Through archive photos, explanatory texts, digital applications, oral testimonies and film projections, the visitor gets introduced to the history of the area from the last ottoman period till recent times.

Finally, Cultural Venue of Islahane hosts periodical exhibitions, cultural events, educational programs for schools and takes part in art, theatre, music, history happenings collaborating with other institutions.