Another historic building in Bucharest torn down to make room for new road, opposing NGOs accuse of second late night weekend demolition

Another historic building in Bucharest was recently demolished to make room for the new Buzesti-Berzei-Uranus road, and NGOs say only a quarter of the house was in the way of the street, while the rest could have been saved. The building at 18 Haralambie Botescu square (in picture), built towards the end of the 19th century in an eclectic style with oriental influence decorations, was a property of the Bucharest City Hall, following expropriation. According to NGOs, the building had been left unprotected, and thieves had been stealing metal parts. Those who opposed the demolition also said it is yet uncertain whether the City Hall had an authorization to demolish the building, and that the late at night, week-end demolition was scheduled on purpose at a time when controlling institutions do not work. The Association Salvati Bucurestiul – Save Bucharest – reminded of the similar demolition of the Matache Hall, another historic building, earlier in March. In case of the 19th century hall which used to host a market, the City Hall plans to rebuild it nearby, 37 meters away from its original location, to make room for the same street. Hala Matache Macelarul (Matache the Butcher) was built by the Bucharest City Hall between 1887 and 1899 and was located in the Bucharest North Railway Station area. Hala Traian and Hala Matache were the only 19th century markets which still existed in Bucharest. Hala Traian has been turned into a supermarket, but its structure was kept. The Matache market building was supposed to be demolished in 2011, to make room for the boulevard, but NGO protests saved it temporarily. The building was however in poor condition, which worsened in recent years, because of construction material theft. The Buzesti-Berzei-Uranus street is one of the largest projects undertaken by the Bucharest City Hall. The street will connect Victoriei Square to Progresul railway station and will be an alternative to the downtown boulevards of Calea Victoriei and Magheru. Work on the first stage of the street, connecting Victoriei Square to Vasile Parvan, started in 2010. So far, 20 percent of the first stage was finalized and inaugurated end 2011, and the entire segment was supposed to be finalized in March 2012. The costs for the first segment are estimated at some EUR 30 million, and for the entire street, some EUR 83 million, according to previous data. editor@romania-insider.com (photo source: Nicusor Dan on Facebook)