After the establishment of the state of Israel, Straus Street became the dividing line between the secular culture of Jaffa Road and points south, and the Haredi culture of Mea Shearim and Geula to the north. In the early 1950s, the street was selected as the site for the new Histadrut building in order to block Haredi expansion southward. The original Histadrut building had been located on Histadrut Street in the city center. The imposing, seven-story building was designed by Fritz Shlezinger and completed in 1953. Like other Histadrut buildings around the country, the large, rectangular structure symbolized the power and influence of the Mapai left-wing political party. Erected at the highest point of the street, its rooftop held a commanding view of Mount Scopus and the Mount of Olives; during the Six-Day War, this rooftop served as the Jerusalem regimental headquarters for fighters attempting to liberate the Old City. Besides offices, the Histadrut building housed a movie theater and a hall that became the home court for the Jerusalem Hapoel Basketball Club beginning in the mid-1950s, as it was the only roofed facility in the country. More than 500 fans filled the hall every Friday night for home games. For many years, the presence of the Histadrut building effectively halted Haredi expansion south of Geula and Mea Shearim.