History
Before the construction of the palace, the location was occupied by the ruins of a monastery (Saint John the Great) and an adjoining inn. The 16th-century church was renovated by Constantin Brâncoveanu during 1702 - 1703, but later deteriorated and was demolished in 1875.
The palace was built as a new headquarters for Romania's oldest bank, the public savings institution Casa de Depuneri, Consemnațiuni și Economie, later known as C.E.C. (Romanian: Casa de Economii și Consemnațiuni). The land was bought and the building constructed with the institution's own funds. Work started on June 8, 1897 and was completed in 1900. The project was designed by the architect Paul Guttereau, a graduate of the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris; construction was supervised by the Romanian architect Ion Socolescu.
After 106 years of service, the building was deemed no longer fit for modern banking and was therefore sold for €17.787 million to the municipality of Bucharest to be used as a museum. Although no longer open to CEC clients, the bank continues to rent the building as its headquarters until a suitable replacement is found or built.
In 2009, it was the venue for the 60th birthday celebrations of Princess Margarita of Romania.
Read more about this topic: CEC Palace
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