N. Kósa Judit - Szablyár Péter: Underground Pest - Our Budapest (Budapest, 2002)
Fish, flesh and fowl down below - the cellars of the Central Market Hall
restored to their original beauty, the pavilions blending perfectly into the environment and the modern equipment that made the greatest impression on the public. And yet the most momentous changes had occurred behind the scenes, mainly in the underground spaces. What posed the greatest difficulty during construction was the apparent impossibility of creating a conveyance route beneath the surface under Sóház utca without disturbing the collecting mains there. The solution eventually decided on by the architects was fitting the lorry ramp in between the mains and the building. The only way of doing that was by replacing a hundred metres of the head wall on the side with a row of columns. To do that the builders had to install twenty-metre bridge girders behind the stone pedestal. Thanks to this alteration, as many as ten lorries can now be driven down and comfortably unloaded in the cellar at any one time. As part of the construction the hall had to be linked to the planned subway at Fővám tér, connected to the metro line envisaged between South Buda and Rákospalota and the underground car park planned for beneath Csarnok tér. When these are in place, shoppers will be able get from them directly to the Pipa utca side of the basement. What is now in evidence of all this is no more than a line of shops: a grocery store and a few shops selling specialties were put in the area that used to be closed to the public, and it is also here that pavilions selling fish and pickles can be found, in case the odour of their mer■ Cxit tjrom the tunnel o{ the Central Market Hall on the Danube bank 17
