Originally built in the late Ottoman period, the Cendere Water Pumping Station has been transformed into an art museum after a meticulous adaptive reuse project carried out by the Heritage teams of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Department of Urban History and Promotion. Designed to make a unique and impactful contribution to Istanbul’s cultural and artistic life, Cendere Art Museum has been revitalized as an inclusive space that embraces all artistic disciplines with a focus on contemporary, interdisciplinary art.

Since its opening on October 24, 2022, Cendere Art Museum has continued to host art lovers with national and international exhibitions, meetings, and events reflecting cultural diversity.

About the Cendere Pumping Station

One of Istanbul’s rare surviving examples of industrial heritage, the Cendere Pumping Station was commissioned by Sultan Abdülhamid II in 1902 when the city’s primary water system at Taksim could no longer meet increasing demands. The station is part of the Hamidiye Water System, the city’s second largest water supply network fed by local springs.

At the time of its construction, Hamidiye water was considered “the purest and highest-quality drinking water.” The Cendere Water Station managed the distribution of this water to Beşiktaş Yıldız Palace and all the neighborhoods along the route, pumping up to 1,200 cubic meters of water daily to about 100 public fountains throughout the city. Over time, the station lost its iconic 33-meter brick chimney, and following the switch to an electric system, some interior spaces were modified. Nonetheless, the structure has managed to retain much of its original character. The station continued to operate until the 1990s, albeit only supplying a few fountains toward the end.