#CentennialRomaniaBuildings: Wilson building, witness of Bucharest history

In the very heart of Bucharest, at the Nicolae Balcescu Blvd. No. 25, the Wilson building lays, an example of inter-war Bucharest's architecture example, important witness of the city's history.

An Art Deco dwelling erected in 1933 by architect State Balosin, the building has an inner structure that reflects the time's social division. The 1940 and the 1977 earthquakes, the World War II and the December 1989 Revolution have marked the construction which, after the 2002-2006 consolidation became risk-free.

* An avenue "a l'americaine"

Bogdan Suditu, a lecturer with the Faculty of Geography - Department of Human and Economic Geography with the University of Bucharest, author of 'Bucharest in dwellings and inhabitants from the beginning till yesterday (1459-1989)' speaks about the building's history, referring firstly to the story of the boulevard it lays on. The demolitions of the previous buildings and the designing of the Magheru Boulevard were finalized in 1927.

'That year almost everything was cleared, for a pretty large road. The profile 'a l'americaine' was defined so that this avenue represented on the one hand the road alternative to Calea Victoriei, and on the other hand the mirror of modernism of Bucharest. The capital city needed a new boulevard, a new, exemplary landscape given that since 1919 the Bucharest construction legislation said that high buildings could be erected in former Enclosure 1 - an enclosure founded in 1847,' Suditu explained.

'This dwelling is an example of success, architecturally and socially. Never were there put the problem to carry out such a construction without a reputed architect,' said Suditu, referring to the Wilson building.

He added that in that period such buildings were erected for the use of the families who benefited from help staff in their household. The owners used to take the main stairs, while the help staff and cooks used to take another stairs, near the kitchens and their rooms.

* A block of flats where entrance was not 'at random'

During the communist time, the proximity of the Central Committee of the Romanian Communist Party (CC al PCR) and the location on one of the city's main boulevards, made it for the Wilson building to have a strict policy as regards the persons living there and the ones who visited them, too.

'It is a building where during Ceausescu one could not enter just like that. If, for instance, public meetings were organized, one could get in only by presenting their ID card. And, at the same time, one could not exit the building but only after being identified. It was a very severe rule. Here used to live people with positions. At the 4th floor, if I remember well, used to live the very press secretary of Ceausescu,' says Cristina Panait, a today's resident of the Wilson building.

Another resident, Ioan Sabadus says that he lived a real 'ordeal' until the police (militia, ed. N.) noted his domicile in his ID card.

'They have all of my relatives, to see whether or not my roots are healthy, whether or not I'm a trustworthy person to reside that close to the CC al PCR. What if I were a reactionary?! I have a full list of relatives they found for me, with me never having any knowledge of them,' he added.

* Witness of the 1977 earthquake: There was a bed dangling at the middle of the building

Ioan Sabadus moved in in 1978, but he recalls well the aftermath days of the March 1977 earthquake: the corner of the building collapsed, thus making the double single rooms' section disappear.

He added that the consolidation works lasted one year, resulting in a 4-meter downsizing from the initial line of the dwelling, after the single rooms' row disappeared.

Bogdan Suditu explains the collapse of the said bachelor's rooms through the fact that inside the restaurant at the ground floor a stanchion was removed so to allow more visibility from outside.

* The 1989 Revolution

Cristina Panait tells that during the days of the Revolution of December 1989, her grandparents who lived in that block of flats could not get near the windows for two or three days.

'On the front side I remember they were crawling on their knees. I know that at the 2nd floor a woman was shot through the window,' said she.

Ioan Sabadus in his turn remembers that those days 'there was firing from all sides' and that a bullet passed very close to his son's ear.

The traces of the bullets are visible even today on the Wilson building's facade.

* Anti-earthquake consolidation on 2002-2006

The building counts for 100 flats to which several commercial spaces are added. The flats are large, comfy, with 3-4, even 5 rooms. The consolidation works took place in 2002-2006, courtesy of the Bucharest City Hall, which gave the money following to be returned by the owners in 25 years, in even rates, free of interest.

'The current owners have made it to consolidate this building by rescuing it from the next earthquake and thus allowing an example of Art Deco architecture to exist, the inter-war life for us, the today's owners and for the ones who will come after us,' said Suditu.AGERPRES(RO - author: Irinela Visan, editor: Catalin Alexandru; EN - author, editor: Maria Voican)

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