Faurest, Kristin: Ten spaces - Our Budapest (Budapest, 2010)
Fő tér
the square, built from 1752—80 by Máté Nepauer. The architect — 19 years old at the time — became the master of the Buda architects' guild ostensibly through marrying the 34-year-old mother of ten who was the widow of the architect who had designed the other major monument of that period in the area, the church at Batthyány tér. This was not unusual for the time; a master's successor took over more than just his work. The church was given by Josef II to the Franciscans, and its altar and frescoes were the creations of the studio of the Austrian Franz Anton Maulbertsch. Standing in every kind of contrast imaginable to the Baroque church is, on the other side of the park and a few steps down Margit körút, the Atrium Cinema. It was purpose-built as a cinema in 1935-36, when the street around it was largely still dominated by ground-floor buildings. The designer was Lajos Kozma, one of the formative designers of the early 20th century who was also known for graphic work, furniture and other designs. It was one of approximately 40 buildings he designed in the incredibly prolific period between 1930-40. Although the building even in its current state is still striking, it has been closed down for many years and is missing a significant number of its original architectural details. The whole building was dominated by black, white, grey, red and orange. Its most visible materials included steel, glass, marble, glass mosaic, artificial stone, ceramic, zebrano veneer, chrome and white stucco. The foyer features black and white marble mosaic, with columns in black, white and gold glass mosaics or white and orange glass tiles. Art Deco curved lighting fixtures were also part of the original. After the war it was reopened in 1947 as the May 1 Cinema, then renamed and renovated in 1990, opening again under its original name, until 2002, when it joined the ranks of neighbourhood theatres closed for economic reasons. Prior to the advent of multiplexes, Budapest had cinemas at pretty much every tram stop on the Great Boulevard. In the last decade many have closed down due to being economically unsustainable; their limited selection, sometime less-than-comfortable seating and smaller screens just couldn’t compete. A few of the best remained and thrived; many, sadly, met the fate of the Atrium. And there were a few of them that were truly less than ideal spaces for viewing films — but this one, by any sensible analysis, should have made it. And maybe - hopefully - its story will have a Fiollywood ending, after all.
