Cendere Water Pumping Station was built at the end of the Ottoman Period. After a meticulous restoration process completed by the IMM it opened its doors as an art gallery on October 24, 2022.
Cendere Art set out to make a unique and impressive contribution to the energy, culture, and art life of Istanbul. It was designed as an inclusive place open to all disciplines of art, with a focus on contemporary interdisciplinary approaches. It has become a popular culture and art venue with Istanbul residences hosting national and international exhibitions, panels, conferences and performances reflecting cultural diversity for its audience.
Cendere Pumping Station is one of the few industrial heritage structures of Istanbul that has survived to the present day. It was built by Abdülhamit II in 1902 since as the Taksim water facilities, the main water line of the city, could not meet the city’s increasing demand. The station is a part of the Hamidiye Water System, the city's second largest network fed by spring water. The station pumped approximately 1200 cubic meters of water daily, to approximately 100 fountains across the city. The station distributed water to all districts on the road to Beşiktaş Yıldız Palace with the "purest and highest quality drinking water", in terms of water quality at the time it was built.
Although the building lost its original 33-meter-high brick chimney over time, it’s original texture remains largely preserved, with some changes in interior spaces to accommodate the transition to an electrical system. The station continued to function until the 1990s, however it supplied water to only a limited few fountain in the city.
