#Apartment house #Budapest #1935
Margit körút 55
1024
Budapest,
Hungary
Public transport: Mechwart liget
Today's use: Apartments
Description
The house is an example of how the street Margit körút was rapidly built up with large houses in the second half of the 1930s. The basic structure of the house consists of a steel skeleton that could be erected very quickly. The individual rooms had to be designed with partition walls. The exterior facade is clad with cement tiles. The entrance to the cinema is highlighted. The orange colour of the door frames and the lettering above the entrance in particular attracted visitors to enter the building. The lighting in the dark certainly drawn even more attention to the cinema.
The cinema was very advanced and well equipped for the time. There was a large round light on the ceiling before and after the film screenings, like a kind of sun. During the screening, only the blue surrounds of the vents that supplied the room with air were illuminated.
The house is designed with 17 apartments, what is quiet a high number and showing, that the apartments are small. The original sliding windows as part of the ribbon windows are replaced by casement windows.
Description
The house is an example of how the street Margit körút was rapidly built up with large houses in the second half of the 1930s. The basic structure of the house consists of a steel skeleton that could be erected very quickly. The individual rooms had to be designed with partition walls. The exterior facade is clad with cement tiles. The entrance to the cinema is highlighted. The orange colour of the door frames and the lettering above the entrance in particular attracted visitors to enter the building. The lighting in the dark certainly drawn even more attention to the cinema.
The cinema was very advanced and well equipped for the time. There was a large round light on the ceiling before and after the film screenings, like a kind of sun. During the screening, only the blue surrounds of the vents that supplied the room with air were illuminated.
The house is designed with 17 apartments, what is quiet a high number and showing, that the apartments are small. The original sliding windows as part of the ribbon windows are replaced by casement windows.
History
Construction works began in 1935 so that the residential building could be opened in 1936. However, the cinema was not inaugurated until 1937. On www.budapest100.hu we found: "The cinema attracted the film and art world of the time to the tenement. Among its first residents were Elemér Lajtos, Béla Haich, Béla Saád, Lola Plesz and Irene Kékes. Elemér Lajtos was the first director of the Atrium Cinema, who made it his mission to make it the premier cinema for Hungarian films in Budapest. His determination can be traced in the cinema listings of the time: in the early years, the Atrium screened films such as 200 Fix a Month, Hotel Kikelet, The Man is Mad, The Borrowed Castle, The Case of the Nosty Boy..., Black Diamonds, and many more, featuring the most popular actors of the time. But Lajtos did not begin his career as a director at the Atrium: he served as a lieutenant in the First World War, retired after escaping from Siberia, and subsequently served as director of several Budapest cinemas. In 1923, he was director of the Corvin Film Theatre, in 1930 of La Scala, and from its opening he directed the Atrium." (translated by DeepL)
The building was hit by bombs during World War II, but was not destroyed. At the end of the war, part of the abattoir moved into the cinema and horses were slaughtered in the foyer. In 1947, everything went back to plan and the cinema was able to reopen. In 1950, the socialist government changed the name of the cinema, which was called 1 May until 1990. This was to honour the workers' movement.
In 1976, the interesting building was listed.
After being renamed Átrium, the cinema remained in use until 2001. Until 2012 it was not use and then transorfed into a theatre. When visiting Budapest in 2024, the exterior gave the impression that the former cinema area had been abandoned again.
History
Construction works began in 1935 so that the residential building could be opened in 1936. However, the cinema was not inaugurated until 1937. On www.budapest100.hu we found: "The cinema attracted the film and art world of the time to the tenement. Among its first residents were Elemér Lajtos, Béla Haich, Béla Saád, Lola Plesz and Irene Kékes. Elemér Lajtos was the first director of the Atrium Cinema, who made it his mission to make it the premier cinema for Hungarian films in Budapest. His determination can be traced in the cinema listings of the time: in the early years, the Atrium screened films such as 200 Fix a Month, Hotel Kikelet, The Man is Mad, The Borrowed Castle, The Case of the Nosty Boy..., Black Diamonds, and many more, featuring the most popular actors of the time. But Lajtos did not begin his career as a director at the Atrium: he served as a lieutenant in the First World War, retired after escaping from Siberia, and subsequently served as director of several Budapest cinemas. In 1923, he was director of the Corvin Film Theatre, in 1930 of La Scala, and from its opening he directed the Atrium." (translated by DeepL)
The building was hit by bombs during World War II, but was not destroyed. At the end of the war, part of the abattoir moved into the cinema and horses were slaughtered in the foyer. In 1947, everything went back to plan and the cinema was able to reopen. In 1950, the socialist government changed the name of the cinema, which was called 1 May until 1990. This was to honour the workers' movement.
In 1976, the interesting building was listed.
After being renamed Átrium, the cinema remained in use until 2001. Until 2012 it was not use and then transorfed into a theatre. When visiting Budapest in 2024, the exterior gave the impression that the former cinema area had been abandoned again.
Sources
Sources
