A place that many call the “world’s most beautiful bookstore” is housed in an unconventional but breathtaking space.
The El Ateneo Grand Splendid in Buenos Aires, Argentina, consists of shelves and racks of books placed around a historical theater where the seats would be. As such, it still retains its painted domed ceiling, ornate gold finishes, balcony boxes, and thick red curtain in front of the stage.
According to Atlas Obscura, the Grand Splendid theater first opened in 1919 as a hub of tango dancing until it became a cinema in 1929. The building was almost torn down due to a declining economy around 2000 when the Ateneo publishing company turned the space into a bookstore but retained much of the original design.
It is now one of the largest bookstores on the continent and hosts about 3,000 visitors daily.
