Porhászka László: The Danube Promenade - Our Budapest (Budapest, 1998)

was a frequent target of attacks in the press as many thought it was an ugly spot on the cityscape. And indeed, the construction was rather ill-placed. Rather than standing in the centre of the square (which was later occupied by Károly Senyei’s fountain) it was placed towards the back virtually leaning against the neo-Gothic wrought-iron railing of the fence that is believed to have been designed by Frigyes Feszi. The pavilion and its open-air section blocked much of the main fagade of the Vigadó from the view of passers-by. However, its fine cuisine and polite service earned it a reputation in Pest. A characteristic piece of trivia is that every regular guest is said to have had his or her own cup or glass.

The space outside the Vigadó was called Vigarda tér from 1873 and renamed Vigadó tér in 1879. The new square was flanked by a Historicist building on both the north and the south side. To the north stood the Thonet Court, while the site on the south was where the five-storey head office of the First General Hungarian Insurance Company was erected to plans by Lajos Frey and Lipót Kauser in 1871, its main fagade, the most richly decorated of its fronts, facing the square. An indication of the financial institution’s prestige was the fact that its fagade was made of ashlar rather than plastered-over brick imitation. The sculptural ornamentation, including a couple of large atlases, was made by Ferenc and Károly Szandház.

In anticipation of an increasing number of customers from the promenade, it was in the ground-floor section

The Grand Hotel Hungária

Hungária-Ssálloáa.

Hotel Hungária.

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