The Casino Victoria was converted from a stately mansion to a casino during the 1940's and then to a government building during the cold war, but in the early 1990's the mansion was once again transformed into a upper-class house of ill-repute. The presence of buildings like these around modern Bucharest, especially when they have been brilliantly converted into venues for entertainment, brighten the atmosphere and give the city a romantic yet energetic feeling.
The twenty years superseding World War II, brought along a massive new influence spreading regime in Eastern Europe. Throughout the WARSAW Pact governments, all began redesigning cities with new styles of architecture based upon their interpretation of communist ideals. Romania, of all the countries who did this, stood out from the rest. A few features that distinguished Romanian communist architecture are colour, size, and utilitarian functions. The majority of the buildings that were built be the communists were government offices and residences or apartment builds designed to house the majority of the population of large cities in a proletarian fashion. These buildings are all tall and extremely horizontal as well; most of them taking up entire city blocks "using downtown sector space this well in such a large city was definitely a testament to the level of efficiency the communists employed. The buildings were all constructed out of white stone and/or cement and the roofs and large windows of the structures were adorned with columns making the built up communist areas look like a modern Rome.
When Nicolae Ceaucescu's communist government was overthrown in the early 1990's, there was another creative resurgence almost as great as the one that sparked baroque. The government was no longer oppressing religion, freedom of speech and artistic expressionism. As a result, within months, monuments to communist power and cymbals of that perfect political dream were being torn down and new structures of newer materials and of newer design were being erected.
Before Nicolae Ceausescu came to power, Romania needed someone to make drastic changes in the government so that they could come out of repression . The country was in repression because the floods came early that year destroying crops and making cities into lakes. There was also an economic problem...
