Category:Hotel Capitol, Bucharest

English: Around 1890, cereal trader Ch. I. Zerlendi built a building at this location, some elements of which may survive in the present building. Zerlendi and architect Henri de Wurmb expanded the building both vertically and horizontally to become the offices of Anker Insurance Society from Vienna. Between 1900 and 1905 SAR Imobiliara financed further embellishment, producing what became known as Casa Luvru or "Louvre House" with the elegant Magasin de Luvru ("Magasine de Louvre") on the ground floor.
A 1911 fire did extensive damage, and the building was rebuilt under architect Arghir Culina, who gave it its current form; the exterior above ground level has remained essentially the same ever since. German troops used the building. still known as Hotel Luvru, during World War I. In 1921 it became the Romanian branch of the Banque Belge pour l'Etranger; it changed hands in 1929 and became the Commercial Bank. In 1935, the Café Royal opened on the ground floor. The building took some damage in World War II, and the café closed in 1945. Under Communism, in 1950 it became the headquarters of CENTROCOOP (the Central Union of Consumer Cooperatives). In 1976 it was again closed, renovated back into a hotel, and took its present name as Hotel Capitol. Another round of modernization began in 2001 and continued until 2014.
[The above is based on the hotel's website and on wall text for an exhibit about Calea Victoriei at the Bucharest Municipal Museum.]