Kavala has been known as a port of tobacco export since the 18th century. However, intense building activity occurred after 1866, with the construction of the first tobacco warehouses and the church of Agios Ioannis, outside the walls that enclose the old town, in the area that later became the center of the city and which has been chosen as an intervention area. This activity coincided with the new building regulation of Turkey "on roads and buildings" of 1864 (Tanzimat). This regulation provided for the planning of residential areas, the drafting of new street plans and an increase in the permitted height, which until then for Christians was limited to 7 meters. With this amendment, it became possible to construct the tobacco warehouses on a massive scale and in an area that was the first major expansion of the city. This extension was approved by a firman of the Sultan, whose date and other relevant information have not been found (Lalenis, 2014).
Immediately after the approval of the expansion of Kavala, tobacco warehouses, tobacco factories, offices of companies, bank shops and residences of tobacco commercials, bankers and diplomats began to be constructed at a fast pace in the intervention area. As there were no size constraints, the new buildings were usually large enough to provide sufficient tobacco storage space or to provide sufficient workspace for numerous tobacco workers and tobacco workers. Indicative of the relative figures is the fact that at the beginning of the 20th century, three large tobacco companies employed 6,000 people as labour (Lalenis, 2014). Towards the end of the 19th century, this new part of the city presented an image of a modern and rich urban part. Most of the structures, of an industrial or economic nature, were built semicircularly around the coastal zone, with the tobacco warehouses usually on the coastal zone and the offices, banks and residences with gradual expansion inwards. These constructions expressed to a large extent the architectural style of the countries of origin of their owners or the architects who designed them. Neoclassical, eclectic, baroque buildings with Ottoman influences, etc., coexisted in a cosmopolitan environment (Rentetzi, 2008). The first new district created outside the walls was That of St. John, with the first homonymous Orthodox church, Christian, Muslim and Jewish schools, as well as hotels, baths and restaurants. Somewhat further north, in parts of the current districts of Agios Pavlos and Agios Georgios – which are also part of the intervention area – were the poorest houses of tobacco workers and tobacco workers, with also a multi-ethnic character (Christians, Muslims and Jews), but without social infrastructure of other uses.