Carlton Bloc ( ro, Blocul Carlton) was a residential bloc located in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

, at 9 Nicolae Bălcescu Boulevard, completed in October 1936. Having 14 floors and a height of , it was the tallest building in the capital until it completely collapsed in 1940 in an earthquake. The building, comprising 96 apartments, was located between University Square and

Piața Romană Piața Romană (''The Roman Square'') is a major traffic intersection in Sector 1, central Bucharest. Two major boulevards intersect in Piața Romană: Lascăr Catargiu Boulevard (which runs northwest towards Piața Victoriei) and Magheru Bo ...

, at the intersection of the Nicolae Bălcescu Boulevard with Royal Street (nowadays, Ion Câmpineanu Street). On the ground level, the bloc had several stores and a large cinema, also called the Carlton. The Carlton Bloc was designed by architects

George Matei Cantacuzino George Matei Cantacuzino (–November 1, 1960) was a Romanian architect, painter and essayist. Biography Origins and early career A scion of two noble families, Cantacuzino family, Cantacuzino and Bibescu, he was born in Vienna to Nicolae B. C ...

and Vasile Arion. The master plan for the systematization of Bucharest, elaborated by the City Hall in 1935, was the basis for the construction, as were most other tall buildings erected in the center of the capital at the time. The construction was carried out by the enterprise of the brothers Karl and Leopold Schindl. The calculations for the

reinforced concrete Reinforced concrete (RC), also called reinforced cement concrete (RCC) and ferroconcrete, is a composite material in which concrete's relatively low tensile strength and ductility are compensated for by the inclusion of reinforcement having hig ...

structure that conferred the strength of the building were performed by the engineer Franz Schüssler. The Carlton Bloc collapsed during the November 10, 1940 Vrancea earthquake. The earthquake, with a magnitude of 7.4 on the

Richter scale The Richter scale —also called the Richter magnitude scale, Richter's magnitude scale, and the Gutenberg–Richter scale—is a measure of the strength of earthquakes, developed by Charles Francis Richter and presented in his landmark 1935 ...

, happened at 3:39 am (local time), when most residents were at home. According to

Constantin Bălăceanu-Stolnici Constantin Bălăceanu-Stolnici (6 July 1923 – 20 August 2023) was a Romanian neurologist. Biography Constantin Bălăceanu-Stolnici was born in Bucharest, the descendant of an old boyar family. He studied at the Ion C. Brătianu High School ...

, the collapse of the building killed at least 150–160 people, although other accounts put the death toll at 200–220, with a single survivor (a watchman on the top floor).

References

{{Tall buildings in Romania Demolished buildings and structures in Bucharest History of Bucharest Collapsed buildings and structures Residential buildings completed in 1936 Buildings and structures demolished in 1940