Once the scene of bitter street fighting during the 1956 Uprising, the Corvin Quarter is a modern-day reinvention set where District VIII, Józsefváros, meets rapidly gentrifying District IX, Ferencváros. Thanks to a redevelopment project undertaken in 2009, this is now a busy, pedestrianised part of the city, one that changed the name of the metro station and stop on main tram route 4-6 here to Corvin-negyed. History is never far away, though, as standing guard at the gateway to the Corvin Quarter is a statue of a rifle-bearing boy, the Pesti srác, honouring those youths who fought Soviet tanks in 1956. Behind stands the quarter’s namesake focal point, the vibrant yellow Corvin Cinema, dating back to 1922. Made wide-screen in 1957, the Corvin became Budapest’s first standalone multiplex in 1996. Its main hall in Art Nouveau-Bauhaus style hosts several film festivals and Hungarian premiers. Both the surrounding quarter, promenade and mall take their name from this classic picture palace. Other destinations of interest among the many terraced cafés and restaurants include the Cserpes café, an ever-busy branch of a popular citywide chain of dairy products and pastries, and the Life1 Wellness gym.
