El Ateneo Grand Splendid

The Grand Splendid opened in 1919 as a theatre of one thousand and fifty seats, with a dome painted by the Italian Nazareno Orlandi. Gardel performed here, then it became a cinema, then it was nearly demolished.

It was converted into a bookshop in 2000 without destroying anything: the boxes were left as they were and serve as reading nooks, the stage is a café behind its velvet curtain, still hanging, and the shelving fills the stalls and the balconies. The ceiling fresco, painted in 1919 on the theme of peace, was left untouched.