Pasajul Macca-Vilacrosse
Encyclopedia
Pasajul Macca-Vilacrosse is a fork-shaped, yellow glass covered arcade
Arcade (architecture)
An arcade is a succession of arches, each counterthrusting the next, supported by columns or piers or a covered walk enclosed by a line of such arches on one or both sides. In warmer or wet climates, exterior arcades provide shelter for pedestrians....

d street in downtown Bucharest
Bucharest
Bucharest is the capital municipality, cultural, industrial, and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmbovița River....

, Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...

. Câmpineanu Inn (Romanian: Hanul Câmpineanu) once stood in the place nowadays occupied by the passage.

After the Chief Architect of Bucharest, Xavier Vilacrosse (a Catalan architect who had followed the French school), married the daughter of the inn owner (1843), the couple received the inn as a wedding present, renaming it with the architect's name. Toward the end of 19th century it was demolished, being replaced by a two-stories-high, ornate structure, in the style of Western passages.

The two narrow streets making up a two-tined, fork-like shape were covered with a glass roof, allowing the entry of natural light while providing shelter from the rain. The ground floor was meant for shops, while the rooms on the first floor were for rent. One branch of the passage was called Vilacrosse, while the other one was called Macca, after Mihalache Macca, the builder's brother-in-law. The two-tined end opens onto Calea Victoriei
Calea Victoriei
Calea Victoriei is a major avenue in central Bucharest. It leads from Splaiul Independenţei to the north and then northwest up to Piaţa Victoriei, where Şoseaua Kiseleff continues north....

, one of Bucharest's main avenues; the other end opens toward the National Bank in the historic Lipscani
Lipscani
Lipscani is a street and a district of Bucharest, Romania, which in the Middle Ages was the most important commercial center of Bucharest and the whole Wallachia...

district.

Pasajul Macca-Vilacrosse hosted the first Stock Exchange House of Bucharest, before a larger and more appropriate structure was built. Between 1950 and 1990 the passage was called Pasajul Bijuteria ("Jewelry Store Passage"), but the initial name was restored afterwards.

Today it hosts several indoor/outdoor eating establishments, including an Egyptian-themed bar/restaurant, the Blues Cafe, a bistro, a Chinese restaurant and a wine bar.
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