Situated on
Santa Fe Avenue in
Barrio Norte, the building was designed by architects Peró and Torres Armengol for impresario
Max Glücksmann (1875–1946), and opened as a theatre called
Teatro Gran Splendid in May 1919. The eclecticist building features ceiling frescoes painted by the Italian artist
Nazareno Orlandi and
caryatids sculpted by Troiano Troiani, Ilhsa, through Tematika, owns El Ateneo and Yenny booksellers (totaling over 40 stores), as well as the El Ateneo publishing house. The building was subsequently renovated and converted into a book and music shop under the direction of architect Fernando Manzone; El Ateneo Grand Splendid became the group's flagship store, and in 2007 sold over 700,000 books; over a million people walk through its doors annually. Customer seating has been installed throughout the building, including the still-intact theatre boxes, and a café has been created at the back of what was once the stage. The ceiling, the ornate carvings, the crimson stage curtains, the auditorium lighting and many architectural details remain. Despite the changes, the building still retains the feeling of the grand theatre it once was.
The Guardian, a prominent British periodical, named El Ateneo Grand Splendid second in its 2008 list of the world's ten best bookshops. In 2019, it was named the "world's most beautiful bookstore" by the
National Geographic. == References ==