Tag #129733 - Interview #78111 (Aristide Streja)

Our family began to feel revived. Thanks to his skills, my father began to run some businesses at the old place, on Selari St. In 1945, when I was still a student, my brother got his architect's degree. Together with our father, he managed to build a house in the center of the city, on Gabroveni St. Our father had owned a piece of land there since 1937, but, during the Legionary regime, his ownership was not recognized, so he could do nothing with the property. He claimed back the land in 1945, and registered it on his name. It was a very small plot, so he thought of building a house. After the war, Lipscani St. and Gabroveni St. were places where the black market began to develop. Those who dealt on the black market only needed a small office, because they didn't have their merchandise there. They first made the transaction, and only brought the goods afterwards. So my father designed some offices that were 2 meters wide by 3 meters long; they were no larger than 5-6 square meters - they were like cages. He put a sign that read 'Offices to sell in this building'. But there was no building - there was only the sign, the construction site, and a cartload of gravel. In 1945, he got the authorization to build. Based on that authorization and on the plan designed by my brother, he managed to sell three offices. He bought iron and bricks and he began to build. My brother was supervising the works. I was called in to supervise too. When people saw the construction had begun, there were others who came to buy offices. The building went on and the house was completed.