Gábor Eszter: Andrássy Avenue – Our Budapest (Budapest, 2002)
early Historicism, which is why they are stricter and in a way more rigid than those conceived in the spirit of mature Historicism a mere ten years later. (These earlier constructions were in fact found somewhat boring by contemporaries.) After the bankruptcy of the Sugárút Construction Company, when the plots were taken over by the Board of Public Works, there was no more talk of uniform building designs as all the Board could do as a municipal authority with no capital at its disposal was to undertake the selling of the plots. No uniform appearance could be prescribed to private entrepreneurs, and while the construction regulations set certain technical requirements (such as the extent to which a plot could be built over, the number of storeys allowed and the height of the buildings) they contained no references to style. And yet Andrássy út was given a uniform appearance, as the same neo-Renaissance style dominating the architecture of Budapest at the time retained its near-hegemony for the entire 10-15 year period of the avenue's construction. Buildings raised later in different styles were adjusted, in fact had to be adjusted, to the existing ones at least in their proportions. Like the Great Boulevard of Budapest, but very much unlike the Vienna Ring, Andrássy út is flanked with remarkably few public buildings. In Vienna, the town hall, the ministry of defence, the university, the Opera House and two major museums were all built along the Ring. Some of Budapest's public buildings were operating in their old locations either in the Inner City or the Castle District, and the idea of building any new ones in the newly forming Sugárút was, mainly for financial reasons, out of the question. Thus the new avenue emerged as a prime residential area cum elegant promenade, the beauty of which was greatly enhanced by the careful planting of a line of plane trees on either side of the avenue. ALL ALONG THE AVENUE From the Little Boulevard to the Oktogon The first building in Sugárút had an important part to play in shaping the overall view of the city, as it was to set the tone of the avenue's style. In 1872, the Board of Public Works commissioned Miklós Ybl to prepare preliminary designs for the plot. Although the designs were displayed at the Vienna World Expo of 1873, their actual use was not considered. The plot was purchased by the 10
