Bucharest Telephone Palace

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Bucharest Telephone Palace (Romanian: Palatul Telefoanelor) is an office building located on
Calea Victoriei in Bucharest, Romania !t ser"es as the head#uarters of Romtelecom
Contents
$ Bucharest
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' References
( )*ternal links
Bucharest
+alatul ,elefoanelor on Calea Victoriei
+alatul ,elefoanelor in Bucharest is an art deco style building -ntil $./0, the /%/ meter building
1as the tallest building in Bucharest2$3
,he 4reat 5epression that began 1ith the Wall 6treet Crash of $.%. strongly impacted the
Romanian economy ,he Romanian go"ernment decided to take a loan from the 7merican trust,
8organ, 1hich obtained from this transaction the granting of a %9:year monopoly on Romanian
telephony to the !nternational ,elephone and ,elegraph Corporation (!,,),2%3 1hich then formed
the 6ocietatea 7nonim; Rom<n; de ,elefoane (67R,, =Romanian ,elephone Company, >td=)2'3
,he aim 1as to moderni?e Romanian telephony and to construct the ,elephone +alace2(3
5esigned on behalf of 67R, by the Romanian architect of 5utch origin )dmond Van 6aanen 7lgi
and built o"er the course of about %9 months in $.'$@$.'', it 1as the first maAor modernist
building on BucharestBs Calea Victoriei,2/3 the street of 1hich ,udor Ccta"ian 1rote, =this is ho1
the 1hole of Bucharest 1ould look if 1e had been allo1edD, if its builders had been cle"er
enoughD=203 !t 1as constructed on the former site of the Ctetelesanu 8ansion, 1hich had been,
since the turn of the century, home to a terrace bar (,erasa Ctetelesanu), a coffee house and a beer
saloon, competing 1ith Casa Cap a for the custom of BucharestBs elite from its location ne*t to the
old Romanian &ational ,heatre2E3
,he steel skeleton 1as produced by the steel1orks at ReFiGa ,he building 1as inaugurated in $.'(
in the presence of Hing Carol !!2I3 ,he building 1as e*tended (both "ertically and hori?ontally) in
$.(9 and $.(0, and sur"i"ed earth#uakes in $.(9, $.EE, $.I0 and $..9 and bombing in $.(( by
7llied Forces during World War !!2.3 With the ad"ent of the Communist era, the building passed
into the hands of the Romanian go"ernment, along 1ith 67R, itself, 1hich 1as nationali?ed as a
di"ision of the 8inistry of +osts and ,elecommunications ,he $.I. Re"olution resulted in the
establishment of the independent RC8:+C6,:,)>)CC8, reorgani?ed as Romtelecom in July
$..$2$93
7 $..' study re"ealed structural problems (the roof 1as ne"er designed to support micro1a"e
antennas, but only a coffee shop)K before a maAor reconstruction proAect could be started in $..E,
engineers had to begin by redra1ing building plans, as the originals had been lost Works included
reconstruction to duplicate the original faLade, as 1ell as structural reinforcement ,he
reconstruction design 1as made by Romanian architecture office +roiect Bucuresti ,he 1hole
+roAect, 1hich ultimately employed E99 people, 1as the largest architectural reconstruction proAect
e"er undertaken in Romania2$$3 !t cost roughly M$ million, and lasted until %99/2$%3
Notes
$ Construc iiK =>ist of &ames and +laces )*plained: ,he ,elephone +alace= in Bucharest
Between the Wars for date it ceased to be tallest
% =>ist of &ames and +laces )*plained=
' Romtelecom
( =>ist of &ames and +laces )*plained=
/ Romtelecom, Construc ii =>ist of &ames and +laces )*plained= says the architects 1ere the
7mericans >ouis Weeks and Walter Froy
0 Bucure tiul Interbelic , p / (pages unnumbered)
E =>ist of &ames and +laces )*plained=, section cited and =,he Ctetelesanu 8ansion=K
7nghel, =Cum se distrauD=
I =>ist of &ames and +laces )*plained=
. Romtelecom, Rotary Construc iiK Haufmann %99$ for the earth#uake dates
$9=Romtelecom : Nistory and ,radition= Retrie"ed %990:9/:%%
$$Romtelecom, Rotary Construc ii
$%&uta %99/
References
7drian &uta, 5upa ?ece ani de reno"are, +alatul ,elefoanelor are o noua faGa (=7fter then
years of reno"ation, the ,elephone +alace has a ne1 face=), Averea, $' 8ay %99/, accessed
% January %990
Haufmann, Birgit, )arth#uake )*posure !n Romania, Exposure, issue &o /, February %99$,
accessed % January %990
Consolidarea +alatului ,elefoanelor, Rotary Construc ii, %99(, accessed % January %990
,he ,elephone +alace in Bucharest, =7d"ertorial= on the site of Romtelecom, accessed %
January %990
O, Bucure tiul Interbelic/Calea Victoriei/Interbellum Bucharest , &C! 8edia +rint, !6B&
.E':..(.':E:$
>ist of &ames and +laces )*plained: ,he ,elephone +alace, in Bucharest Between the Wars:
A o!ernit" With #rin$es, Romanian 7cademy >ibrary, accessed ( January %990
5inu 7nghel, Cum se distrau romanii "ara, acum un "eac =No1 Romanians spent summer a
century ago=, reprinted from Buc%t%ria pentru toti, accessed ( January %990
External links
Calea Victoriei bet1een Casa CapFa and +alatul ,elefoanelor, $.'/, photo
+hoto of +alatul ,elefoanelor after reconstruction
Coordinates: ((P%0Q$900R& %0P/Q/$%(R)
Tall buildings in Bucharest
Tall buildings in Romania
Categories:
Buildings and structures in Bucharest
Buildings and structures completed in $.''
Nistoric monuments in Bucharest
7rt 5eco architecture
Calea Victoriei
,his page 1as last modified on ( 8ay %9$( at $$:$%