The Central Hospital of the Ministry of Interior utilized the buildings of the sanatoriums on the avenue and the Rózsi Walter Villa starting in 1949. The hospital withdrew from the area in 2009, and the building complex stood vacant for the next decade. In 2018 when the property was taken over, worn-out buildings in poor condition stood in the territory of the sanatoriums. Although the Rózsi Walter Villa and the sanatoriums had been remodeled numerous times, their original architectural qualities were still discernable. Rózsi Walter’s former villa was used by the hospital for decades as a day-care center and as pediatricians’ offices. The subsequent additions and alterations can be clearly seen on the back façade of the villa. The garden staircase leading up to the first floor was also demolished sometime after 1949. Hardly anything remained from the original furnishings, fenestration, and cladding materials of the Walter Villa by the 2000s. The interior spaces were also subdivided and walled off for its function as a health facility. One of the few elements of the interior that survived in its original state was the elegant wooden staircase leading from the first to the second floor, which has been restored to its former condition during the current rehabilitation of the villa.
Ágnes Anna Sebestyén
Photographs by Róbert Hack
