An Initiation to [Soft] Urban Archeology: Spatial Arrangement of The Alien ‘Cultural Centers’ and The Interpretation of a Symbolic Pattern in Pre-1953 Coup Tehran Volume 5 - Issue 5

Sahand Lotfi* and Mahsa Sholeh

• Department of Urban Planning and Design, School of Art and Architecture, Shiraz University, Iran

Received:November 03, 2021;   Published: November 18, 2021

Corresponding author: November 18, 2021

DOI: 10.32474/JAAS.2021.05.000224

 

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Abstract

This article proposes the notion of ‘soft urban archeology’ by examining the evolution of modernized Tehran under the reign of Pahlavi I as a context for the political rivalry between the Allies during World War II and later until the Nationalization of the Iranian Oil and the Coup d’état of 1953. Firstly, we scrutinized the historical buildings once occupied by the alien cultural centers, which were left unrevealed to the next generations. Secondly, a hidden, symbolic pattern appeared regarding the evidence-based geometry of the points on Tehran’s map of the 1940s. This pattern shows a series of lines connecting the principal points of the British, Soviet, and American cultural centers, which acted as the Big Three delegation offices with different cultural-propagandist endeavors. However, the spatial arrangement of the points unveiled an undeniable similarity with the symbol of masonic rites. As the polemic of masonic presence coincides with the political tumults between 1941 and 1953, this pattern seems to be an esoteric indication of some ignored facts. By prospecting more and reading the evidence through the historical documents, photographs, and confidential reports and memorandums, an exciting interpretation emerges that clears up some of the fateful events that overbalanced the political situation in 1950s Iran.

Keywords:Tehran; Soft Urban Archelogy; Alien Cultural Centers; Symbolic Pattern; Nāderi Avenue; Nationalization of the Iranian Oil; 1953 Coup d’ Etat

Preface| Introduction| The Emergence| The Political Scene| Nāderi Avenue or a Falmboyant Boulevard| The Events| The ‘Plot’| The Symbolic Pattern| The Epilogue| References|