Pizzabook

December 21, 2008 - 9:32 AM by David

A vintage shot of the old Richie's Pizza on Jerusalem's King George Street.

Did you know that Facebook was invented in Jerusalem? Well, not the actual social networking site itself, but the pre-computer era concept of social networking on a grass roots level.

We’re talking pizza here – Richie’s Pizza – a Jerusalem landmark for most of the 1970s and 80s. For anyone travelling through the city, whether it be student on year-long or short-term programs, backpackers, or new olim, Richie’s was the mecca for contact.

Towering over its reputation for lousy pizza was its amazing bulletin board, where appointments were made, travelling partners to Katmandu were found, Lebanse hashish was scored, and dates were initiated.

While I only stopped by there as an outsider once or twice, my friend Alan worked there for a few months as a pizza maker while on a six-month college program in 1979. And he can vouch for all of the above, not to mention gaining the perks of some impromptu ‘social networking’ of his own with members of the opposite sex.

It was quaint, and sometimes ineffective (many a romance was stymied by the bad timing of a note at Richie’s falling by the wayside or being hidden just before its hoped-for recipient entered the joint), but it was alot more personal and exciting than sitting at a computer keyboard and typing a message.

Richie’s – which closed its doors on King George St. in 1990 – came up in the context of a recent gathering of a new organization called Amuta 2.0, an initiative that helps local nonprofits take advantage of new technologies. Lisa Barkan, Amuta 2.0′s director explained to The Jerusalem Post things have evolved from Richie’s cork board to Facebook.

“For today’s generation, [social networking site] Facebook is the wall of Richie’s Pizza,” she continues. “It’s like your own private bulletin board. And you don’t have to be in Jerusalem to read it.”

But of course, in today’s mash up, you can have the best of both worlds. Facebook now has its own ‘I Remember Richie’s Pizza’ page. So now, old timers can reminisce about the good old days in Jerusalem, and they won’t even get the indigestion endemic with eating at Richie’s.

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