Calea
Victoriei între Casa Capşa şi
Palatul Telefoanelor
Victory Avenue between Capsa House and
the Telephone Palace
The photo offers a
general view of the boulevard, catching its most
important segment: the one between Capsa House and
the
Telephone Palace. Both buildings are elements of
excellency in the townscape of Bucharest. The famous
hotel – restaurant – brasserie was opened in 1868 by
Grigore Capsa, a pupil of the Boissier Confectionery
House in Paris. In just a few years, Capsa achieved
an envied reputation. Its clientele has included the
Bucharest high-life and many foreign personalities:
the Grand Duke Nicholas of Russia, Prince Goncharov,
Prince Milan of Serbia, the President of the French
Republic Raymond Poincare, famous artists like
Caruso, Sarah Bernhardt, Josephine Baker. When
visiting Bucharest in 1930, the French writer Paul
Morand noticed that Capsa represents “the heart of
the city”.
Victory Avenue offers a
show of facades with electric décors and shop
windows. The crowd is slipping, passing in front of
the shops from the ground floors of buildings.The
building from the left is the residence of the
Romanian Chamber of Commerce, radio stations and
newspapers.
Victory Avenue is the
center of the city, an area where changes happen
fast. It is proved by a photo taken a few years
later. Everything is changed: new shops have been
opened, another radio station, a party is talking
about changing its residence, etc.
