1950 the cornerstone was laid for a permanent building for Beit Ha'Am on Bezalel Street in the Nachlaot neighborhood. The land had been purchased by the Jewish National Fund for this purpose, and architect A. Hoffman designed the building. While construction commenced before the declaration of the state of Israel, the project was abandoned with the onset of the 1948 Arab–Israeli war. In 1955 the project was taken over by the Jerusalem Municipality, which hired architect David Reznik to complete the plans. The building was finally completed in 1961. Trial of Adolf Eichmann With the capture of the Nazi officer Adolf Eichmann in Buenos Aires and the decision by the Israeli government to try him for crimes against humanity, the newly opened Beit Ha'Am was chosen as the site for the trial, in part due to its ability to accommodate the many journalists and media correspondents expected to attend. The building was enclosed by a high security fence and a holding cell for Eichmann was established on-site for the duration of the trial. The four-month trial, which began on April 11, 1961, was highly publicized and covered by radio, newspaper, and television journalists from around the world. Of the 756 seats made available in the theatre, 474 were designated for members of the press; journalists also viewed the proceedings via closed-circuit television in an adjacent press room. Another 570 viewers watched on a closed-circuit screen in the nearby Ratisbonne Monastery. Videotape was flown daily to the United States for broadcast the following day. A bulletproof glass wall was erected between the stage where the judges sat and the spectator seating, and Eichmann sat inside his own bulletproof glass booth with armed guards at his side. The trial concluded on August 14, 1961; on December 13 the court found Eichmann guilty of crimes against humanity. The death penalty was issued on December 15. Eichmann's attorneys appealed to the Israeli Supreme Court, but the court upheld the verdict on May 29, 1962. After a last-minute appeal for clemency to Israeli president Yitzhak Ben-Zvi was also refused, Eichmann was executed shortly after midnight on June 1, 1962. Renovation Following the Eichmann trial, Beit Ha'Am reverted to its function as a cultural center. In the early 1980s the Jerusalem Foundation undertook the creation of a major arts centre on the site and found a donor in Eliezer and Lucie Behar of France. The renovation,