Hailed by National Geographic as the "world's most beautiful bookstore," El Ateneo Grand Splendid in Buenos Aires, Argentina, was originally a 1,050-seat performing arts theater. Designed in the eclecticist style by Spanish architects Peró and Torres Armengol and opened in 1919, the Teatro Gran Splendid wowed patrons with ceiling frescoes painted by Italian artist Nazareno Orlandi and sculptures by Troiano Troiani. These features, along with its velvet stage curtains and auditorium lighting, were carefully preserved when Grupo Ilhsa, the building's current owner and proprietor of more than 40 bookshops and the El Ateneo publishing house, began renovations in 2000.
To convert the theater to a bookstore, the seating was removed and replaced with bookshelves. The stage, once occupied by famous tango performers of the time, was transformed into a coffee shop. The balconies and theatre boxes were preserved and furnished with comfortable seating for guests to enjoy. Schindler escalators connect the bookstore's basement to the main level, which has three balcony levels above it, totaling 22,000 ft2 of retail space.
