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
1912 This year saw the completion of the Main entrance with the elephants, which soon became the symbol of the zoo. Its plans were made by Kornél Neuschloss free of charge. The Farm yard was also completed and so was the interior of the House of Pachyderms and the fences of the zoo. The Squirrel House and the Zebra Stable were built, and a special arena was created for performing folk dances and other folklore attractions. With the opening ceremony drawing ever nearer, it was time for the management to think about advertising, so a call for designing posters was published. As it said, ‘the poster was to be characteristic and represent a high artistic standard, worthy of the city and the zoo’. As soon as the posters were ready, the zoo signed a contract with Hungarian Railways, making it possible to place the posters at railways stations. Only the really final touches were still left to be done, such as catering for the physical and entertainment needs of visitors. The February meeting of the council decided to provide the financial means for hanging lanterns on the trees by the lakeside, placing signposts at footpath junctions, building a playground and a horse riding yard as well as several public toilets and issuing season tickets. The question of the restaurant and café was raised at the council meeting of 13 March and ruled that ‘it should be let to a tenant for the summer season until the end of October and the offer made jointly by restaurant owner Károly Gundel and café owner Ignác Weingruber should be accepted’. The tenants were requested to furnish the buildings by the start of the summer season - one building next to the Museum of Fine Art (still known as Gundel Restaurant today) and a café created as part of the interior of the palmhouse. Besides, restaurants were to be created on the balconies and interior of the Big Rock, and the council ordered that a kitchen and a music pavilion be built as well. The privately-owned public transport company (Közúti Vaspálya Társaság) decided to open a new tram line as a consequence of with the expected demand due to the opening of the zoo. The ceremony raised some security issues as well, so from 18th May two policemen were posted in front of the main gate and the side gate respectively, while during the ceremony itself, four policemen were on duty within the zoo. Having completed the construction works, purchased the animals, making the zoo accessible by public transport and improving security, now it was finally time to hold the opening ceremony. It took place on a Monday, in splendid weather, which was one of the reasons why some 8 orlO thousand people gathered to listen to the speeches. Among the formal invitees there were all the leading politicians of the time, including cabinet ministers, state secretaries and ambassadors, as well as leading businessmen and other celebrities and dignitaries. At 11 o'clock Tivadar Body started his speech, which touched upon the history of the old zoo and praised the highly efficient construction efforts as well as ‘the generosity of the Municipal Council that enabled the creation of this beautiful new institution’. He thanked the Zoo Construction Subcommittee for their work and his words, followed by much applause and cheering, still hold true today: ‘As for the artistic execution of the construction works, I must mention Gyula Végh, Károly Kós, Dezső Zrumeczky and Kornél Neuschloss, all talented architects, who have created a true beauty spot here, which will continue to please the public for a long time to come! After the speeches, the rebuilt Municipal Zoo of Budapest was officially opened - visited on the very first day by no fewer than 24,000 people, according to press reports. The number of visitors reached its peak towards the evening, when the crowd filled the park with cries of amazement. Visitors were very happy about the quality of construction work, and the spectacular fireworks were likewise a great success. At the Aquarium, biologist Viktor Garády, head of the biological observation station at Fiume provided interesting explanations of the specimens on display, while the opening hours of the Palmhouse were extended to reach into the night. At the end of the first week the press estimated the total number of visitors to have reached 42, 000, and if these numbers were certainly lower in later weeks, the new zoo continued to be highly popular among the people of Budapest. By September 1912, that is, in the first four months of its functioning, the zoo had nearly one million visitors, which made the investment an unquestionable success. H Detail of the Main Entrance designed by Kornél Neuschloss, circa 1912 FÁNK fotógyűjtemény IB The Elephant House, designed by Kornél Neuschloss, 1912-1915. FÁNK fotógyűjtemény Hl A palm presented by the Emperor Franz Josef to the Palm House, circa 1912. FÁNK fotógyűjtemény
