The North–South artery of the Romanian capital, linking Piața Victoriei to Piața Unirii, is perhaps the best-known and most traveled street in Bucharest. Paradoxically, over a distance of just 4.5 kilometers, it bears four different names: Lascăr Catargiu, Gheorghe Magheru, Nicolae Bălcescu, and Ion C. Brătianu. Each segment commemorates a significant historical figure, and this toponymic fragmentation reflects the city’s turbulent past and the way politics and public memory have shaped the map of the capital.

From Colței Lane to a monumental boulevard

From a modest lane once known as Colței, the artery became a monumental boulevard, a symbol of urban modernization, but also a fragmented memory space, where stories of demolitions, reconstructions, disappearances, and reappearances intertwine.

Before becoming the busiest artery of the city, the route between today’s Piața Victoriei and Piața Unirii was known as Colței Lane. This modest street connected the area around Piața Sfântul Gheorghe to northern Bucharest and was lined with small houses, churches, and shops.

In the 19th century, as modernization accelerated, Mayor Pake Protopopescu initiated the alignment and systematization of the lane. To widen the route, he took the controversial decision to demolish the Colțea Tower, a city landmark.

Public outrage was immediate, and writer Barbu Ștefănescu Delavrancea mocked the mayor, accusing him of being “a common pie-seller” for destroying such an iconic monument.

Lascăr Catargiu, the one who put Carol I on the throne of Romania

The first segment of the future boulevard was built between Piața Victoriei and Piața Romană, during the term of Mayor Nicolae Filipescu (1893–1895).

Initially called Colțea Boulevard, the new section was laid out according to a strict urban plan and lined with stylish buildings in varied but harmonious architectural styles.

To make space, valuable houses were demolished, including those belonging to Titu Maiorescu, Alexandru Marghiloman, Dimitrie A. Sturza, and even Ion C. Brătianu himself.

Later, this segment was renamed after Lascăr Catargiu, a major political leader of the 19th century who governed the Romanian Principalities after the abdication of Alexandru Ioan Cuza and before Carol I ascended the throne.

Catargiu symbolized stability in a time of transition, and his name was deemed fitting for the modern boulevard.

Magheru and Bălcescu, a posthumous friendship in one kilometer

The liveliest part of the artery stretches between Piața Romană and Piața Universității. Locals simply call it “Magheru,” even though the space is officially divided into two segments: Gheorghe Magheru Boulevard (between Romană and the C.A. Rosetti intersection) and Nicolae Bălcescu Boulevard (between Rosetti and Universitate).

Magheru, a general in Tudor Vladimirescu’s army and a supporter of the Union of the Principalities, was a respected military figure. During the interwar period, the boulevard bore the name “Take Ionescu,” and under communism it was renamed “Nicolae Bălcescu.” Only after 1989 did it regain its current identity.

Nicolae Bălcescu, historian, diplomat, and revolutionary of 1848, was adopted by the communist regime as a symbol of radical ideals and revolutionary fervor.

Ironically, Magheru and Bălcescu had been close friends in real life, and today they remain side by side on the city map, sharing a kilometer of boulevard. This stretch, perhaps the best known in all of Bucharest, still concentrates much of the city’s commercial, cultural, and urban life.

Ion C. Brătianu, between Universitate and Unirii

The final section, from Piața Universității to Piața Unirii, bears the name of Ion C. Brătianu, one of the architects of modern Romania. Brătianu was the man who brought Carol I to the throne and led the government during the War of Independence, playing a decisive role in the proclamation of Romania’s state sovereignty.

Under communism, this segment was renamed “1848 Boulevard,” a convenient reference to revolutionary tradition. After 1989, however, the name Brătianu was restored.

Ironically, Brătianu’s own residence, located near today’s Dalles Hall, was demolished to make room for the artery. A memorial plaque recalled the spot until 1944, but it too disappeared.

The urban history of Bucharest is thus marked by cycles of construction and erasure, where memory is always partial and fragmented.

The puzzle of vanished statues and houses

Beyond the houses sacrificed for the boulevard’s expansion, the artery also lost many of the monuments that once marked its landscape.

In the interwar period, Magheru featured the statue of Take Ionescu, placed near his palace. On Bălcescu stood the Brătianu house, later replaced by the Brătianu monument.

Today, the situation is paradoxical: Take Ionescu’s house still exists, but the statue is gone; the Brătianu monument has reappeared, but their house no longer stands. The memorial plaque for Brătianu’s residence vanished during World War II.

These disappearances and reappearances make the boulevard a veritable historical puzzle, where urban memory resembles a fresco repeatedly erased and redrawn.

Magheru, the boulevard of modernism

In the interwar period, Magheru became the symbol of architectural modernism in Bucharest. Tall buildings inspired by European trends, with clean lines and functionalist design, rose along the street.

Landmarks of the time included the Simu Museum, the Italian Church, the Dalles Foundation, and the Enei Church. The boulevard was dotted with statues, stylish shops, and cafés, embodying the effervescence of interwar Bucharest.

Today, however, the image has deteriorated. Magheru is suffocated by traffic, and many of its modernist buildings are marked with the red seismic risk dot, at risk of collapse. The one-kilometer stretch between Romană and Universitate can take 20 minutes to cross by car—ample time to witness the slow ruin of a once vibrant architectural heritage.

Communist systematization and great disappearances

With the communist takeover, the boulevard entered a new phase of radical transformation. Statues were removed, and emblematic monuments disappeared.

The Simu Museum was demolished to make way for the ONT and Eva twin blocks. The Dalles Foundation was absorbed into a massive structure, and the Enei Church, though it survived the 1977 earthquake, was demolished together with the Dunărea block.

At Piața Romană, the “La Coloane” block appeared, while at Universitate the ensemble of the National Theatre, Intercontinental Hotel, and the underground passage was constructed. The boulevard’s former architectural diversity and cultural vibrancy were replaced with the uniformity of socialist architecture.

Four kilometers, four names, four stories

Bucharest’s North–South boulevard is not just a route between Piața Victoriei and Piața Unirii, but a living museum of the city’s history. Each segment tells a different story and evokes a statesman who shaped Romania’s destiny.

Lascăr Catargiu symbolizes the political stability of the late 19th century. Gheorghe Magheru recalls the revolutionary ideals and the fight for union. Nicolae Bălcescu represents the 1848 spirit and the passion for freedom. Ion C. Brătianu remains the architect of independence and the modern kingdom.

Together, these four names inscribe a lesson in urban history: a Bucharest always caught between tradition and modernity, between construction and demolition, between memory and oblivion. The boulevard with four names is more than a street—it is a condensed image of Romania’s modern history, written in stone, concrete, and memories.

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