Variety is the main feature of the area in Bucharest in which the tourist can stroll at leisure amongst all the great cities of the world. The streets bearing capital names gave birth to a unique place in which the history of the Romanian architecture unveils itself, house by house.
We return on the street in order to continue our journey through the world’s capitals in the middle of Little Paris. Today we have selected Prague, a street setting up an appointment with Paris and Warsaw in the Quito Square.
Just like Paris Street, that we introduced to you during our first journey, Prague Street passes through the skittish plaza, one of its ends meeting Athens Street, and the other one intersects with Washington Street. All along the street, next to the edifice at No. 4, a mansion with one story and attic, a historical monument, Prague discreetly goes past Belgrade Street.
In such a such a complex landscape you can let yourself get swept by the desire to “bounce” from one city to another.
Architect Mircea Enescu’s Signature
But let us return to Prague! No doubt, there is no way the mansion at No. 2 can escape notice. The house seems to contrast with the remainder of the mansions in the area, its uniqueness being nevertheless undisturbed. Quite the opposite! The edifice at No. 2 is the central point of such an elegant street as this one.
The mansion, classified in the category of the historical monuments, bears the signature of Architect Mircea Enescu. What makes it special is the style he imposed on the construction, implementing very much details under a Mediterranean influence.
Unlike most of the edifices we meet in this area of Bucharest that have been constructed prior to World War II, the mansion at No. 2 belongs to the Communist era. “It is one of the buildings erected after 1960, Mircea Enescu being an active Architect between 1950-1980”, Prof. Nicolae Lascu at the “Ion Mincu” Architecture and Urban Planning University is explaining to us.
The exotic and mysterious air of the edifice contrasts with the other creations of Mircea Enescu. The Architect designed important industrial objectives. He is the one who imposed the general line of the Militari Industrial Area. Also, he placed his signature on the Militari Radiators and Bathtubs Factory, designed the Mechanics Faculty in Cluj-Napoca. Also, according to his plans, the Neptun Seaside Resort was developed, and The Costineşti Summer Theater was constructed. Moreover, Mircea Enescu was involved in constructing one of the most important Gymnasiums during the Communist period. We’re talking about the one in Deva, the one in Cluj-Napoca, the one in Piteşti, and the one in Iaşi.
But still, in this mansion on Prague Street, the signature of Architect Mircea Enescu can be most beautifully seen.
Unlike the other streets, Prague is not as rich in “mansions with a signature.” Somewhere midway through, reigns majestically another historical monument mansion, imposing, white-colored, possessed of one story and an attic. The edifice grants elegance and style to the place.
An Area in Which the Most Influential People of the Communist Area Lived
Actually, elegance and style are the predominant features of the whole area, about which Professor Nicolae Lascu is telling us that “it is one of the most luxurious residential areas of Bucharest, being possessed of buildings of a great variety of architecture, many of these being designed by the most important Architects of ours. A number of buildings are included in the Historical Monuments’ List.”
As you walk along these small streets dominated by skittish mansions, you cannot help asking yourself how is it they escaped the Communist bulldozers which “scraped off” entire residential areas in the capital to make room to the Communist apartment buildings. The answer is offered to us still by Professor Lascu. He points out the fact that “the area has been regarded as a residential area with a high degree of convenience (a Mansion Area), judging according to the size of the land plots (parcels), according to the dimensions of the mansions, and, no doubt, according to the owners, the former ones or the newer ones (after 1950), a number of them very influential, who maneuvered things in such a way that the whole area would not be affected by major alterations. As far as I know, no Chief Architect of Bucharest and no Urban Planning have had in view anything else but maintaining the high standard of occupancy.”
The desire to know even more the architectural wealth in the area prompts us to return to Quito Square. And this way we embark on another short trip. This time to Warsaw.
Hidden behind giant trees, the mansions on Warsaw Street combine elements of Neoclassical or Mediterranean origin: arched windows, balconies with laced hardware, masonry ornaments with floral motifs. We find these elements either all of them on one edifice, for instance the mansion at No. 7, or spread on each of the edifices on the street, supplementing the note of mystery and exotic of the neighboring Prague Street.
Author: Ștefania Enache
Photo: Corina Gheorghe
