The apartment house on the corner of Zichy and Nagymező streets, 30 Zichy Jenő street

Source: budapest100.hu

In the middle of the 19th century, Theresatown is the busiest of the outskirts and has the most of the population. Its main road is Király street, which also fulfilled the functions of the later Andrássy Road, and was a route for traffic to the City Park. But then Theresatown was “a bunch of narrow, small and smelly streets, which was a hotbed of every illness and virus”. The Zichy Jenő street was one of the olde streets inside Theresatown. In the last quarter of the 18th century it was called Új street, which became official in 1874, then it became Count Zichy Jenő street in 1907 then Zichy Jenő street in 1946.

  
Source: budapest100.hu, kep-ter.blogspot.com

The construction plans in the archives show that there already was a building on the corner of Nagymező and then-called Új streets. It was probably a one-story house, because Karolina Kuncz, née Marcher, commissioned Károly Hild architect to build a second floor and expansions on each floor. She must not have been completely satisfied with the results, because a year later she hired Bódog Buzzi for more alterations. This two-story house was replaced in 1914, the first year of World War I by the current apartment house.

 
Source: kep-ter.blogspot.com

The owner of the property and the commissioner was in this case Hunnia Construction Co., the company of Gyula Fodor. The altered plans were signed by the architect on 18^th February, a few months before the assassination attempt in Sarajevo. The roof slabs have a structure of reinforced concrete plates between steel beams, and Fodor also planned a studio above the mezzanine and the three floors, probably for a photographer, because there is also a darkroom and only the studio has windows on the attic level. The apartment of the housekeeper, the clothing-attic was on the Zichy street side, the loft space on the Nagymező street side. The plans also tell us that there were multiple shops on the ground floor, and on the courtyard “all lights were covered with electro glass”. Open balconies were drawn towards Nagymező street, but they were missing towards Zichy street.

 
Fékisz Tailoring shop on the ground floor then (left) and now (right)
Source: kep-ter.blogspot.com

In May 1914 he altered the plans some, which was then approved by the engineering department of the Metropolitan Public Works Council. Nothing more could be found of that time in the archives, later, in 1942, the attic was redone, commissioned by Miklós Laczkó and his partner in ownership; these plans had a terrace on the top floor, on the corner, which has already existed, when the building had the studio. The apartment of the housekeeper, the attic and the laundry room was also on them. According to the order addressed to Miklós Laczkó, a servants’ room was created in the housekeeper’s apartment, usable with permission.

   
Source: kep-ter.blogspot.com

On the Nagymező street side, it is clearly visible that there was an attempt of “loft conversion” later, and the slabs and the roofing was built with this in mind. On the Zichy Jenő street side, only the courtyard loft was converted, using a “guest slab”. This is not visible on the outside. The reconstruction of the mezzanine was only the removal of the street-side entrance (the stairs), making it a standalone unit. At the same time, the landing by the elevator on the ground floor was elongated, and they started a short flight of stairs, creating a space for a bookbinding shop under the courtyard, which later became an office then an apartment.

The building can be found on the website of the Yellow Star Houses, having gotten the yellow star in 1944.

After World War II everything happened as usual: the house was put into state ownership, the apartments were separated.

  
Source: kep-ter.blogspot.com

The house on the outside is in relatively good condition, the roof has been renovated not long ago, and the interior is just like an average apartment house in Pest. The old stucco ornaments in the main staircase are still beautiful, running under the stairs. The railings are not too gaudy, but elegant, and the arch of the stairs is pleasing to the eyes. The original metlachi tiles could only be preserved partially, the rest were replaced by tiles made of ceramite. The entrance hall is a bit worn down, you can only guess that it had been more decorated back in the day, but the glass-paned entrance gate is still beautiful.

The house is protected by the district and was submitted for inclusion in the historic registry.

Source: kep-ter.blogspot.com

Sources: budapest100.hu, kep-ter.blogspot.com