Gerle János: Palaces of Money - Our Budapest (Budapest, 1994)
Lechners second prize-winning design for the Stock Exchange Commercial Bank, started to operate in Lloyd’s Palace. It was in the same place ten years later that the Pest Stock and Commodity Exchange was set up. The Corn Exchange merged with it in 1868. In another five years the Exchange was moved to the new building of the Pest Lloyd’s Company. This location soon turned out to be too small and the light was also insufficient for the inspection of corn. Hence a decision was taken to acquire one of the plots remaining after the demolition of the “Újépület” (New Building). The demolition dragged on for years, then in 1898 the Exchange eventually managed to purchase a 2,500 square “öl” plot (9,000 square metres) at 900 koronás per square öl. The person who initiated and prepared the investment was Zsigmond Kornfeld, the then Vice President of the Exchange. Beside Kornfeld the jury for the tender competition announced in 1899 included the Dean of the College of Applied Arts Kamill Fittler, master builder Ödön Neuschloss, architect Frigyes Schulek, sculptor Alajos Stróbl as well as eight members of the Exchange Board. International experts Paul Wallot, the designer of the Berlin 'Reichstag and Karl König, the architect of the Viennese Vegetable and Corn Exchange, were invited from Dresden and Vienna respectively. Thirty-three tenders were entered-an unusually high number. The first prize was won by Ignác Alpár, who was also awarded the second prize for another design of his, but this prize was divided between him and one of the two plans jointly entered by Ödön Lech- ner and Sándor Baumgartner. An important consideration of judgement was that the large hall of the Corn Exchange should receive light from the northern street front, which was why the design submitted by Lechner and his partner was criticised on account of its use of the court yard as a source of light. Each of the entries bore the marks of historicism (true enough, the date was 1899) and was pretentious-something that seems 28
