The Mango House is a building in Amman

Amman

Amman is the capital of Jordan. It is the country's political, cultural and commercial centre and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. The Greater Amman area has a population of 2,842,629 as of 2010. The population of Amman is expected to jump from 2.8 million to almost...

, Jordan

Jordan

Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...

. Situated on Mango Street

Mango Street

Mango Street is a historic street in the Jabal Amman area near downtown Amman, Jordan. Officially named Omar bin al-Khattab Street , the street derives its nickname from the Mango House, a building on the intersection between Mango and Rainbow Streets...

, the house looks out toward Jabal Akhddar on the other side of the valley that is downtown Amman.

Architecture

The Mango House was designed by architect Mukhtar Saqr, who had also designed the close-by Al Bilbeisi House II. Located on Jabal Amman

Jabal Amman

Jabal Amman is one of the seven hills that originally made up Amman, Jordan. Today, Jabal Amman is near the old downtown area.-History:Along with the rest of old Amman, Jabal Amman was first settled during the Neolithic period. But unlike nearby hills, particularly Jabal al-Qal'a, Jabal Amman was...

, the Mango House is an example of a new style of Jordanian architecture and differs greatly from the houses built in the area during the 1920s and 30s, as well as from its 1940s contemporaries. The house is built with smooth rose stone and has numerous wrap-around balconies. A similarity to other 1940s houses is the clear separation of rooms, instead of using a more traditional tripartite plan. The Mango House is built in two separate halves, so as to accommodate the two brothers living there when it was built.

History

The Mango House was built in the late 1940s by the brothers Kamal and Ali Mango, sons of Hamdi Mango, who were part of one of Amman's primary business dynasties during the era. Built on Omar bin al-Khattab Street (later dubbed Mango Street), the house was close in location to several other houses, south of Habboo and Akrawi House, and across the street from al-Mufti House

Al-Mufti House

The Mufti House is a house located on Rainbow Street-Mango Street intersection in the Jabal Amman neighbourhood of Amman, Jordan. Like many other houses in Jabal Amman, such as the Mango House across the street, 70 years has given the Mufti House time for a significantly wooded front yard to develop...

. When the Mango House was built, the Mango family also owned several other houses on Mango Street. During the 1970s, the interior of the upper floor was remodeled. The upper unit was revamped even further when, in 1995, a two room penthouse

Penthouse apartment

A penthouse apartment or penthouse is an apartment that is on one of the highest floors of an apartment building. Penthouses are typically differentiated from other apartments by luxury features.-History:...

was added. The Mango family continues to occupy the house today.