Taking
\nthe northern exit from Bucharest, following one of the oldest and most
\nimportant boulevards, Victory Road, overpassing the current headquarters of the
\nRomanian Government, one arrives at the junction of another two large main
\nroadways: Kiseleff Road and the Aviators Boulevard. In the 19th
\ncentury, the two merged into one of the capital city’s peripheries, known as
\nThe Road. It was an ideal place for strolling, going for a picnic, a place
\nwhere the hustle and bustle of the city room left room for large stretches of
\ngardens, orchards and vineyards. Towards the end of the 19th
\ncentury, when Bucharest was booming and the need for urban planning was growing,
\nthe Road itself started to change, being torn in two: one half stretched
\nalongside Kiseleff Road, while the other had several names, one of them being
\nJianu Road, today’s Aviatorilor Boulevard. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Oana Marinache, an art historian,
\ntold us more:<\/p>\n
A major step towards the urban configuration of the city was the layout of the
\nformer Coltea Boulevard, the segment linking Romana Square to Victory Square,
\ntoday’s Lascar Catargiu Boulevard. This boulevard was instated during the
\nmandate of Mayor Nicolae Filipescu, at the end of the 19th century
\nand in early 20th century. Starting 1902 the authorities were
\nalready considering widening Jianu Road and creating a system of urban
\nregulations, after these vast estates were expropriated, with a view to
\nclearing land for the build-up of residential areas.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Without any
\ndirect connection to mayor Nicolae Filipescu, Alexandru Filipescu, the nephew
\nof an important and rich boyar nicknamed ‘the Fox’ would also contribute to the
\nprocess of streamlining the Jianu Road. Here is Oana Marinache again:<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
He was
\ndubbed the ‘Fox’ as he was very cunning and good at negotiating his position at
\nthe court irrespective of the political changes of the time; he used to be so
\ngood at adjusting to the political context. He remained unmarried but had an
\nillegitimate son whom he eventually acknowledged and named Ioan Filipescu. Ioan
\nlater married Eliza Bibescu, daughter of the Romanian ruler Bibescu, and had a
\nson, Alexandru Filipescu, the one who was going to make the difference in the
\nprocess of streamlining the aforementioned road. In 1912 he got the idea of
\ndividing the estate he had inherited from his grandfather. In a relatively
\nshort period of time, this boyar who had the spirit of a real estate developer
\nmanaged to sell about 120 plots of land each ranging between 500 and 1,000
\nsquare meters. This initiative developed until WWI and Alexandru Filipescu died
\nin 1916. He paid to fit his estate with all the needed utilities. He also gave
\nBucharest two parks, two green areas in order to contribute to the idea of a
\ngarden-city. He wasn’t only into property speculation but was also interested
\nin improving and developing the area. He kept for himself a big plot of land
\ntowards the Jianu Road where he built himself a villa after architect Roger
\nBolomey’s plans. He also laid out the
\nalleys behind his estate after a French pattern, bordered by various species of
\ntrees. He named these alleys after his ancestors and that’s why one of them is
\ncalled Alexandru Alley. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Prince Alexandru
\nFilipescu’s villa, that can still be seen today on Aviatorilor Boulevard, is
\none of Bucharest’s architectural jewels, according to art historian Oana
\nMarinache:<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
The
\nblueprints for the villa are signed by Roger Bolomey, a Swiss-born architect
\nfrom the town of Piatra Neamt, where he
\nworked as an architect and where signed the blueprints for some very special
\nvillas. Coming from the Moldavian area, the Neo-Romanian style that he adopted
\nwas obviously influenced by elements specific of that area, such as apparent
\nbrick and the turret foyers specific to the monasteries in Bucovina. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Little by
\nlittle, one of the city’s most beautiful residential areas developed, after the
\nparceling out of the Filipescu estate. Owners bought their plots of land between 1912
\nand 1913 but the construction of villas continued until the inter-war period. Owners
\nwere generally well-off people, such as bankers, politicians, boyars,
\nindustrialists and also artists. The general architectural style, although not
\nrigidly regulated, was mostly Neo-Romanian, which became popular especially
\nafter the Union of 1918. An example in this respect is the villa that hosts the
\nmain office of the Romanian Cultural Institute. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Oana Marinache: Vasile
\nMortun is the first owner and commissioner of the villa located on Alexandru
\nAlley at no 38, built by architect Petre Antonescu. In the inter-war period the
\nvilla was bought by industrialist Nicolae Malaxa who extended it after the
\nplans of architect Richard Bordenache. Also, the area started to be inhabited
\nby painters and artists who wanted to live close to each other. Given that the
\narchitectural style of Bucharest was not strictly regulated, a wide range of
\nnew projects signed by important Romanian and foreign architects emerged.<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
In spite of the
\ndestruction and change specific to the communist regime, the area has
\nmaintained its elegant aspect. <\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Towards the end of the 19th century, Bucharest was booming and the need for urban planning was growing<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":136,"featured_media":125644,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[45210],"tags":[45490,45489,45487,45488,45449],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-169082","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-rri-encyclopaedia","tag-the-fox","tag-alexandru-filipescu","tag-filipescu-estate","tag-nicolae-filipescu","tag-oana-marinache"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n