Places in Bucharest - Casa Presei Libere
The place is beep-ing huge! If you'll excuse the abrupt beginning, but some things have to be set straight first. And now that we got it out of our system, let's get to know Casa Presei Libere (which would roughly translate as House of the Free Press), which could stand as a step sister to the People's House (Palace of the Parliament), not by architect parenthood (the Press House being designed by Nicolae Maicu and the Parliament by Anca Petrescu), and not by similarities of style, either (the Parliament abunds in details and luxury, while the hallways of the Press House are empty and shabby). They relate in accomplishing to infuse the mere man with a feeling of diminutiveness and insignificance in front of the collective human efforts of those who have built something that will hopefully dwell for centuries.
"I wonder how long it took to build this place", I was wondering while circling the building, which, by the way, is a whole lot harder than one might imagine. Although the frontispiece is impressive with its height and length, once you're past the front wings you still have a long way to go around the back. Over 200m.
The answer to my question above is 5 years, namely between 1952 and 1957. Horia Maicu drafted the blueprints being inspired by Lomonosov University in Moscow.
At the beginning, the building was called "Casa Scanteii". "Scanteia" (the spark) was the name of the official newspaper of the communist party, and what you maybe don't know is that you can still find it, and what's more, it's an electronic newspaper.
The building which is the headquarters of dozens of publications, publishing and printing houses, has a square area of 280 x 260 m. Without the television aerial, it measures 96 meters, and with it, 104m, which beats even Intercontinental Hotel, which is only 86 m high.
The Press House is a perfect example of Stalinist architecture. Huge and imposing, but practical. Not even this bastion of the old times escapes the modern trends. Right in the middle of the front end, there is a neon ad sign of the jeans designer LeeCooper. A colorful element, and maybe even a surrealistic one, considering the history of the building.
On September 21st 1960, a huge statue of Lenin, made by sculptor Boris Caragea, was erected in front of the building. Getting rid of this landmark on March 3rd 1990 was part of the healing (or getting even) process of the capital's inhabitants after the communist era ended. The base is still there, but in the statue's place there's a simple and befuddling art form.
Once you get used to the size and "gallactic" dimensions, the artistic details kick in. Such elements which, seen from a closer angle, may soften the giant of stalinist architecture. Flowery elements, carved rails and medieval fences. The turrets don't have a purpose in themselves, are mere architectural artifices. A closer look also shows that the building has another human characteristic: it's growing old. You can read its age in the rusty spots and the stones, gray with soot and dust.
The newspapers which you may read during breakfast or in the subway have their headquarters here: Adevarul, Jurnalul National, Cotidianul. Press agencies, too. Behind the building there are the printing houses, and if you're not afraid of dogs, you can enter freely. One of the most important is Coresi, the National Company of Printing Houses. It has a 55 year old tradition.
After 20 minutes of circling the building, we are still not sure we'll be able to really grasp the lonely castle of the Press House. Park Herastrau is right across the street and the green oasis makes the gray walls even duller. It is yet obvious that this building will stand tall to its fame for years, even though it is presently threatened by privatization. Casa Presei Libere is a mass media fortress in a city that feeds on information day by day, hour by hour.
