Fabó Beáta - Gall, Anthony: I came from the East to a City of Great Palaces. Károly Kós, the early years 1907-1914 (Budapest, 2013)
Kós' First Steps as an Independent Architect
ÜSS The Main Entrance designed by Kornél Neuschloss, circa 1912 FÁNK fotógyűjtemény B The old entrance to the zoo, circa 1898 György Klösz 111 Design for the Main Entrance Pavilion, Kornél Neuschloss XV.17.d.328 KT szor 1/24-12 Between 1909 and 1911 the Elephant House was built - then called the House of Pachyderms. The dome and the towers were decorated with enamelled tiles, manufactured in the Zsolnay Ceramic Factory of Pécs, which was already famous at the time. Most of these tiles were not mass-produced but individually manufactured. The oriental style building with its elegant dome was complemented by a 31 m tall minaret, although visitors couldn't enjoy the tower for very long - the Turkish embassy soon requested its removal saying that a religious building had no place in such a frivolous setting. The stone- and woodwork of the very last buildings were nearing completion in late 1911, so the management asked the council for 560 crowns for the masons and 444 crowns for the joiners as a Christmas bonus, which they were granted. In 1911, thanks to the maintenance tasks around the new buildings and the expanding animal stock, 22 new staff members were hired, so the staff now included 56 people. This year saw extensive animal purchases as well as donations. When buying new animals, the aim of the management was to be able to present to the public as many different species as possible. Lendl corresponded with the other zoos of Europe and addressed a request to all Hungarians travelling abroad asking them to contribute with plants or animals. Following the plea, numerous donations were made. Famous traveller and hunter, Kálmán Kittenberger came home from Africa especially for the opening ceremony and he didn't come empty-handed: he brought back lions, hyenas, aardvarks and numerous birds for the zoo. The number of animals reached 1684 by late 1911, as opposed to 900 in the previous year. By September 1912 it went up to 3536. When the earlier insurance policy expired in 1912, the new policy included a value estimate for each animal worth more than 100 crowns. Only minor works remained to be completed in this year, such as creating the interiors of some buildings, digging a lake for the otters, laying the pipeline network and finishing the drainage system. New trees and bushes were planted as the landscaping was drawing to a close. The construction of the Farm yard started, which was to provide home for silkworms, homing pigeons, rabbits, poultry and a beehive. Final touches were being added, such as the main gate, fences, side entrances, footpaths, gas lamps and electric cables. 78
