157
CERCUL MILITAR NAŢIONAL
In her turn, Queen Maria, who participated to the
inauguration, recorded in her diary her impressions
on the Palace: “This morning (February 4, 1923 – au-
thors’note), I attended the inauguration of the Military
Club Palace. It was a grand ceremony, attended by all
the officers from Bucharest, the metropolitan, etc. The
building is wonderful. It was started many years ago
and the resources have always been too limited to fi-
nalize it. At last, it is now completed”.
The truth is that the Palace managed to over-
whelm through its monumentality and beauty of its
architectonic lines. These lines reflected the spirit of
the age, the Palace being built in the style of eclectic
neoclassicism, a mixture of ancient architecture, late
Renaissance and neoclassicism. It was a formula first
used in France, from where it spread on the entire Eu-
ropean continent. The façade, consisting in a tall first
floor followed by a row of double columns separated
by loggias, leaves a strong impression. At the upper
top, each column has composite ornaments, accen-
tuating the elegance of the building. The note of ele-
gance is further emphasized by the two large cornices
bordering the median lines of the façade. The forth
floor exhibits a series of windows and a long balus-
trade.
The façade of the Military Club Palace has often
been compared to that of Paris Opera, which was
designed by the well-known architect Tony Garnier
(1869-1948). This confirms the strong French influence
over the Romanian architecture at end of the 19
th
cen-
tury and beginning of the 20
th
century.
The visibility of the Palace is increased both by the
surrounding area, as there are no tall buildings in its
vicinity, and by its esplanade, as well. The entrance to
the terracewas done by two lateral staircases, followed
by the Honorary Hall (now the Military Restaurant).
Next was the Festive Hall (now the Marble Hall), one of
the largest and most beautiful halls in Bucharest, ac-
cessible by a monumental stairway. The second and
third floors were dedicated to official activities. At the
fourth floor there was the hotel, which had 42 rooms,
while the ground floor and basement comprised vari-
ous rooms, offices and spaces for rent. The area under-
neath the terrace was occupied by the heating instal-
lation, which, at that time, was considered state of the
art. In the rooms orientated to Queen Elisabeta Boule-
vard, there was the library, whose collection expanded
steadily over the years, especially by donations. The
most important was that of General Alexandru Tell, in
1923, who donated nearly 4,000 volumes.
Also, there were rooms for billiard and for other
leisure activities, for dance, for learning foreign lan-
guages, etc. The Norwegian Hall was destined to fenc-
ing, but it hosted the canteen of the Ministry of War
for many years.
Overall, the Palace successfully covered the needs
of the Military Club, becoming in a very short time
an important hub for the officers from Bucharest and
elsewhere, who were able to unfold here many of their
professional, cultural, scientific and spare time activi-
ties, etc.
During the interwar period, the institution devot-
ed itself to a series of issues, such as: the diversification
of cultural, scientific, professional and leisure activities
offered to the officers from the Bucharest garrison; ex-
panding the book collection of the library; the initia-
tion of projects meant to enhance the functionality of
the building, etc.
If, during the interwar period, there were no
major changes in the status and activity of the Mili-
tary Club, the latter constantly expanding over time,
both in quality and in quantity, the Second World War
brought major changes, the institution being radically
transformed during Marshal Ion Antonescu.
