Maybe the best of all is that the ownership has made a clear commitment to keeping the place in pristine condition. The original design, basically that of a 19th century Italian music hall, has been kept. The enormous circular room that houses the store has three levels of box seats, two of which are now occupied by gallery space, the third by books. The theater walls and the external bays of the boxes are painted white with extensive neo-classical decoration and ornament in gold.

The ceiling, very high up, is a grand cupola with an original mural by an Italian artist named Nazareno Orlandi. Not quite The Sistine Chapel, but it will do for the bookstore. Where the main floor seats once were is now filled with bookshelves, and the curious reader of almost any kind of writing can find something of interest. My own pursuits are in contemporary South American fiction, and just about everything of importance in that sphere is here.

The one drawback the English-speaking reader encounters at the Grand Splendid is the absence of books in English. You'll find only a few of the kinds of paperbacks you can get in any airport bookstore in the United States, but El Ateneo Grand Splendid can be forgiven. If you read Spanish, this store is a great treasure. Having a coffee at The Impresso — perhaps on the very spot where Carlos Gardel reprised "Mi noche triste" for an adoring audience — only adds to the experience.