The Macca-Vilacrosse Passage is today one of the most picturesque places of old Bucharest, a space that preserves intact the cosmopolitan air from more than a century ago. Its horseshoe shape, elegantly arched, together with the dome of yellowish glass that filters the light in a warm and diffuse way, creates a unique atmosphere in the city. But long before becoming an attraction point for tourists and a favorite place for terraces, the passage was conceived as an urban experiment meant to bring Bucharest closer to the Western aesthetics of the great European capitals.

The origin of an ambitious project in the Bucharest that wanted to become “Little Paris”

At the end of the 19th century, the city was going through an accelerated transformation. The Romanian elites wanted the rapid modernization of Bucharest and the consolidation of its reputation as “Little Paris”. The area between Calea Victoriei — then the axis of elegance, full of luxury shops, hotels and cafés — and the traditional Lipscani Street — the old commercial center of the city — was a strategic space. Here two worlds met: that of traditional merchants and that of the modernizing aristocracy. A functional and spectacular connection between the two universes was necessary.

From this need appeared the idea of a covered passage, similar to the ones that already existed in the great cities of Europe. The project was financially supported by the banker George Vilacrosse, a well-known figure in the financial environment of the era. For the construction, he hired the architect Felix Xenopol, an important name in Romanian architecture at the end of the 19th century. Xenopol is the author of several representative buildings, including one wing of the current Museum of History of Romania.

The architecture that changed the center of the city

The passage was inaugurated in the year 1891, after a complex construction process that involved modern engineering elements for that time. The metal structure, one of the most daring technical achievements of the age, supported the colored glass dome, designed especially to diffuse the light. It was not only an aesthetic element, but also a functional one, meant to offer a warm, constant light to the commercial space.

The horseshoe shape of the passage was an ingenious architectural solution, adapted to the irregular configuration of the land. The result was a curved, elegant route that harmoniously blended the modern urban spirit with the charm of the historical center.

At the beginning, the passage hosted especially elegant offices and shops with expensive products. Its position between the financial and commercial zones turned it into a highly valuable place. Currency exchange offices, refined boutiques and small commercial spaces oriented toward wealthy clients set the tone of the activity here.

The passage as a financial node and the scene of political intrigues

A special role in transforming the passage into a nerve point of Bucharest was played by hosting the Merchandise Exchange. For an important period, the institution carried out its activity right inside the passage. This brought here merchants, speculators, financiers and investors, who animated the space in a rapid rhythm, typical of the great European economic centers.

The presence of the Exchange also created a favorable environment for discreet meetings. The passage cafés, intimate but lively spaces, quickly became the preferred places for politicians and journalists of the era. Here political plans were discussed, alliances negotiated and information exchanged. The passage thus became a center of intrigues, a place where public events were influenced from the shadows.

The atmosphere was sophisticated but at the same time discreet. The elegance of the passage, combined with the bustle of the financial world, created a unique mixture that can still be felt in the architecture and structure of the place.

From discreet luxury to the controversial reputation of the interwar period

The First World War profoundly changed the dynamics of the city, and the passage was not spared. Although it remained a lively place, gradually it began to gain an ambiguous reputation. In the interwar period, many spaces were transformed into casinos, bars and even illegal gambling dens. They attracted diverse characters: hardened players, adventurers, politicians in financial trouble, but also social figures of Bucharest in the 1920s and 1930s.

This double identity — of a place of luxury and, at the same time, of excesses — contributed to the bohemian atmosphere of the passage. While during the day it kept a respectable appearance, dominated by offices and cafés, at night it was animated by gambling and secret meetings.

For many Bucharesters, the passage had become a symbol of the modern city, full of contrasts, similar to the great European capitals.

The transformations brought by the communist period

After the nationalization of 1948, the role of the Macca-Vilacrosse Passage changed radically. Private spaces were taken over by the state, and many of the commercial and worldly functions were eliminated. The casinos disappeared, and the elegant cafés were transformed either into ordinary shops or into offices of some public institutions.

The cultural and social climate of the passage simplified, losing the charm and dynamism that had made it famous in the interwar period. Even so, its architectural structure survived, even if sometimes only as the backdrop of a grayer urban life.

The lack of investments and the passing of time gradually deteriorated the space, but the passage continued to have an important role in the pedestrian circulation of the city center.

The Macca-Vilacrosse Passage today: between heritage and urban life

In recent decades, the interest for restoring the historical zones of Bucharest has increased, and the Macca-Vilacrosse Passage has benefited from rehabilitation works. The colored glass of the dome was restored, the metal structure consolidated, and the internal spaces gradually reopened for modern commercial activities.

At present, the passage is populated especially by terraces, cafés and small restaurants that attract both tourists and locals. The warm atmosphere, filtered by the yellow light of the dome, creates an intimate setting, ideal for socializing, photography and walking. Although its economic function is no longer that of the past, the passage continues to be a lively place, pulsing in the rhythm of the old center of Bucharest.

As an urban monument, the Macca-Vilacrosse Passage is a testimony of a period in which Bucharest aspired to European modernity and elegance. It preserves traces of discreet luxury, of worldly stories, of political intrigues, but also of the more difficult decades of the 20th century.

In the end, the passage is not only a transit place, but a true time capsule — a space in which the architecture, memory and identity of a city in continuous transformation intertwine.

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