Edison Café, Stern House, 24 Teréz körút

 
Source: MESZL Budapest Collection, hu.museum-digital.org

According to the archives, the three-floored apartment house was finished in May 1888, commissioned by Miksa Stern and plans drawn by Gusztáv Petschacher, Austrian-born Hungarian architect. Petschacher was a significant representative of the archaic architecture, who designed apartment houses in the neo-renaissance style in the Hungarian capital. This not only defined the look of Andrássy Road by the end of the 19th century, but also the dowtown of Pest. Among others, the well-known house of the MÁV (Hungarian State Railways - ed.) Pension Fund on Kodály-körönd (circus) under 88-90 Andrássy Road, the Pallavicini Mansion under 98 Andrássy Road and the Harkányi Mansion under 4 Andrássy Road are under his belt.

 
Source: pestbuda.hu, pinterest.com

His buidling style for apartment houses was on full display in 1888-1889 on 24/A Theresa Boulevard. He had grown so fond of this house that he moved in with his family from the Pallavicini Mansion and even opened his office here. Another interesting feature of this place is the bust of Petschacher, which stands in the recess by the gate, decorated with a seashel motif, a typical decoration on his works. On the base of the bust, the following is written: "Gusztáv Petschacher architect. Planner of this house. 1889." This was excellent advertising in those days.

  
Source: lasdbudapestet.blogspot.com

To the right of the boulevard entrance was a shop with an open storage and on the corner by Aradi street a café welcomed its guests. In the yard, next to the back service stairs lived the vice porter. For the comofrt of the residents and visitors, there was a coach-house for carriages, a carriage room and also stables for up to five horses. By the time the new building housed the Edison Café, the name Weinburger was renown in the whole city.

Ármin Weinburger rented an inn then a café on the square now called Astoria. His sons, Markus and Ignác followed in their father's footsteps. Out of the two, Ignác moved his café to Városliget. He didn't just entertain the public with various shows, but he served special refreshments, as well. Later he opened his new café called Edison on the boulevard, which apparently received its name, because Weinburger knew Edison personally. The Weinburger family operated many inns and cafés in the monarchy-era Vienna, too.

 
Source: lasdbudapestet.blogspot.com

Behind the swinging doors of the staircase, wide steps lead to the upper floors in the open loggia. In the summer light, not even the windows can stop the direct warmth of the sun, so the arched, pastel-coloured staircase always comes to life. The carved stone rails are joined with slim, marble columns by the turns, the floor is covered with black and white terrazzo tiles. In the halls of the upper floors, flowers are basking in the sun in balcony boxes, leaving behind the cool, narrow spiral staircase in the back corner of the building.

Under the imposing café with high ceilings, in the basement there were three game rooms and a card room. Next to the stairs stood the kitchen, the toilet and the cashier. The ventilation shaft, the coal room and the cloakroom left some space for the compartments of the residents, too. In the summer of 1936, the windows were replaced in the Edison Café, from old stained glass panes to new sliding metal windows. However, when the winds of war blew through the Boulevard, the cheerful tunes of the piano grew silent. The disturbed patrons jumped from their seats and left their coffees behind in their hurry to escape the café. After the battlefield quieted down, only the stains of spilled coffee on white tablecloth and broken cups left their mark on the scene.

    
Source: lasdbudapestet.blogspot.com

In 1949, the service station of Orion Radio and Electrical Company (previously Hungarian Wolframlamp Factory, established in 1913 by János Kremeneczky) set its first screwdriver down in the former Edison Café, under the - then - number 82 Lenin Boulevard, which had taken severe damages. For its operation, the Company did some small modifications on the building. Among the regulations of 1957, a document dated in July shows that the Capital Neon Company installed a neon business sign for the ground floor shop of the Orion Factory - similar to the one that was visible in Kossuth Lajos street until a few years ago.

Source: fortepan.hu

The ground floor today is taken by a branch office of Erste Bank, a service station of Samsung, the Quick Hair Beauty-parlour and a grocery store on the Aradi street side, next to the entrance of the service station. Current visitors can walk by the shiny, stained, black wooden ornaments of the wide stairs in the service station. The meticulous carvings and the copper handrail is still in excellent condition. Through the large storefronts, the original black marble columns are visible, covered in white sheets for protection, just like the Venetian mirror. Fortunately, this was also preserved as a gypsum board was pulled up in front of it so it wouldn't be damaged by the new functions of the place. Previously the cafeteria was housed in the mirror room, in the magnificent game room of the former café.

  
Source: lasdbudapestet.blogspot.com

Besides the stuccos of the ceiling, the most fascinating memento was the toilet, found even on the newer plans. The copper handles, the ornate cement tiles and the marble sheets separating the stalls were kept whole. An interesting sight is the folding doors of the stalls, which open to both sides, and the signs "occupied/vacant" on them. On the opposite wall of the men's room, historically fitting porcelain urinals were installed. The flower-patterned stained glass windows in both the men's and women's rooms were remade in their former beauty. The original tiles of the coal chute in the labyrinthine basement, which are from yellow ceramite, was proven to be, luckily, durable.

 
Source: lasdbudapestet.blogspot.com

This building is a great example of how a company recognizes the values of the past, preserves them with great care and protects them for posterity.

Source: lasdbudapestet.blogspot.com

Sources: ilyenisvoltbudapest.hu, pestbuda.hu, lasdbudapestet.blogspot.com