The first theatre in Lugoj opened on Bucegi Street in 1835. With the building of the channel on the lefthand bank of river Timiș in the historical nucleus of the German part of Lugoj and the ground thus ready for urban development, architect Sandor Laszlo and a team of three architects and engineers of the Royal Bureau of Architecture Lugoj, Armin Villanyi, Karoly Elek and Mihaly Gombos, designed a new playhouse. Work started in 1899, and the new Communal Theatre was inaugurated on December 1, 1900.
The Neo-Classical building is composed of a series of distinct added volumes conceived to serve functional requirements. The main façade, oriented towards the river, is developed on an axial-symmetric plan with, in the background, Ionic columns and pilasters and, on the upper level, Corinthian columns. The façades are divided into two horizontal registers, of which the lower one, on the ground floor, is punctuated by a slightly deeper fluting, and the upper one features much finer profiles. The façades and the half storey are separated by a markedly trapezoidal cornice, with concave arch openings on the ground floor and rectangular openings on the upper register. The detailed woodwork of the main accesses incorporates elements of decorative ironwork around the transom and in the central plane of the door parts. The concert hall itself is simplified, possibly as a result of a loss of original ornaments following successive renovations.
In 1934 the Communal Theatre is renamed Mihai Eminescu Theatre. One year later, when a bust of celebrated Lugoj-born Traian Grozăvescu, who performed there many times, was erected in its proximity, it changed names again in honour of the great artist.
Although it proudly represents Lugoj built heritage, the Traian Grozăvescu Theatre is not a heritage site. A request to that effect was made in the General Urban Planning Department in 1999, but it is still left unresolved.
References:
Suciu, Monica. Aspecte ale urbanizării Lugojului în a doua jumătate a secolului al XIX-lea și începutul secolul al XX-lea [Aspects of Lugoj Urbanisation in the Second Half of the 19th Century and the Beginning of the 20th Century], in Restituiri Bănățene, Timișoara: Editura Eurostampa, 2014.
Bocicai, Adina, SC Arhicons SA. Studiu de fundamentare. Fișe de clasare, Plan Urbanistic General Lugoj [Arguments for Heritage Site Classification, General Urban Planning Department], 1999.
Stan, Constantin-Tufan. Prima ediţie a Zilei „George Enescu” la Lugoj [George Enescu Day Lugoj, 1st Edition], in MUZICA 2/2012, https://biblioteca-digitala.ro/?articol=51677-prima-editie-a-zilei-george-enescu-la-lugoj–muzica–serie-noua-anul-xxiii-nr-2-90
https://lugoj.webnode.ro/l/teatrul-traian-grozavescu/
https://lugojtv.ro/2021/02/istoria-miscarii-teatrale-din-lugoj/