El Ateneo Grand Splendid is one of the best known bookshops in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Situated at 1860 Santa Fe Avenue in Barrio Norte, the building was designed by the architects Peró and Torres Armengol for the empresario Max Glucksman (1875-1946), and opened as a theatre named Teatro Gran Splendid in May 1919. The ecleticist building features ceiling frescoes painted by the Italian artist Nazareno Orlandi, and caryatids sculpted by Troiano Troiani (whose work also graces the cornice along the Buenos Aires City Legislature.
The theatre had a seating capacity of 1,050, and staged a variety of performances, including appearances by the tango artists Carlos Gardel, Francisco Canaro, Roberto Firpo and Ignacio Corsini. Glücksman started his own radio station in 1924 (Radio Splendid), which broadcast from the building where his recording company, Nacional Odeón, made some of the early recordings of the great tango singers of the day. In the late twenties the theatre was converted into a cinema, and in 1929 showed the first sound films presented in Argentina.
The ornate former theatre was leased by Grupo Ilhsa in February 2000. Ilhsa, through Tematika, owns El Ateneo and Yenny booksellers (totaling over 40 stores), as well as the El Ateneo publishing house. The building was subsequently renovated and converted into a book and music shop under the direction of the architect Fernando Manzone; the cinema seating was removed and in its place book shelves were installed. Following refurbishment works, the 2,000 m² (21,000 ft²) El Ateneo Grand Splendid became the group's flagship store, and in 2007 sold over 700,000 books; over a million people walk through its doors annually.
Chairs are provided throughout the building, including the still-intact theatre boxes, where customers can dip into books before purchase, and there is now a café on the back of what was once the stage. The ceiling, the ornate carvings, the crimson stage curtains, the auditorium lighting and many architectural details remain. Despite the changes, the building still retains the feeling of the grand theatre it once was. The Guardian, a prominent British periodical, named El Ateneo second in its 2008 list of the World's Ten Best Bookshops.
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Massive Theater Converted Into Magnificent Bookstore Book lovers and theatergoers alike, consider planning your next vacation to Argentina to check out this spectacular, one-of-a-kind bookstore built within the old Grand Splendid Theater in Buenos Aires. Located in the neighborhood of Recoleta, the structure originally opened as a theater in May 1919 with all kinds of performances gracing the stage, and then served as a cinema during the late 1920’s. In 2000, Grupo Ilhsa converted the space into the El Ateneo Grand Splendid bookstore, which now serves as the group’s flagship store with over one million visitors each year.
Much of the original interior remains intact, including the balconies, ceiling frescoes, sculptures, ornate carvings, and the thick burgundy stage curtains. Theater boxes serve as cozy reading nooks and lifelong acting dreams can be surreptitiously fulfilled as you step onto what was once the main stage to visit the café.
The bookstore is appealing for both the classic 1920’s theater feel and elaborate décor, as well as the copious amount of books that shoppers can peruse. In keeping with the initial inception as a performance arena, a pianist plays live music onstage in the afternoons. What a fantastic way to spend a day, flipping through pages and enjoying the awesome acoustics in the same place where famous tango artists once took the stage.
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