The history of one architectural monument in Chisinau: the building of the first stone circus, the “Express” cinema, the Moldovan drama theater and the National Philharmonic (1911-2021)

Abstract

In the second half of the XIX century provincial traveling circuses were quite common in Bessarabia. The first attempt to build a permanent circus in Chișinău was made on April 22, 1911. In March 1912, the owner of the Bristol hotel, Constantin Kolomandi, wrote to the Construction department of the Bessarabian Provincial Board a new request for the construction of a stone two-story building of the circus theater at the corner of Mikhailovskaya and Schmidt streets (today Mihai Eminescu and Metropolitan Varlaam streets). In May 7, 1912, he received an official building permit. In general, the construction of the building of the circus theater, which was supervised by the city architect Vladimir Țiganco, was completed on October 21, 1913. Later, the “Express” cinema was opened here. In the post-war period, this building was housed by the Moldavian Drama Theater. And in 1954, the premises were transferred to the Moldavian Philharmonic. But on September 24, 2020, the cultural heritage of Moldova was damaged as a result of a fire which seriously damaged most part of the building of the National Philharmonic „S. Lunchevici”. Today the building is in the need of restoration in order to preserve its historical, architectural and artistic value.