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
The lakeside facade of the Palm House and Aquarium BFL XV.17.d.328 KT szor 1/69-49 The entrance to the Palm House FÁNK fotógyűjtemény 1911 The committee applied for extra funding one more time, and on 16th June, 1911 they were given another 332,600 crowns for the final works - interiors, furnishings, fountains and the fence. 60,000 crowns were spent on creating the spectacular main entrance. The designs for the House of Small Predators, the Farm Yard, the Pigsty, the Little Egrets' Volier and the Dog Kennel were made and the permits for these were issued on 11th August. The woodwork was once again done by Zsigmond Popper's company. They also worked on the Main entrance, which soon became the symbol of the Zoo. Competition for the various work phases on the main entrance was open to companies from 6th September. Peterek and Wagner were chosen to do the earth- and stonework, János Biehn's company to construct the reinforced concrete parts for 15,109 crowns, while the artificial stone decorations were the product of the Hammerle and Rzymann Stone Factory of Budapest. They also created the two spectacular ‘groups of elephants with a surface of 13 sq metres each, in 30 cm deep relief format, sculpted using the ceramic mould provided by the commissioner’ for only 1075 crowns each. Today's visitors can still see the bear head and the monkey, also their products, if they happen to glance up while queuing for the tickets. Detail of the Streetlamp at the entrance to the Palm House BFL XV.17.d.328 KT szor 1/69-54 77
