The building has been erected in the 18th century, once served as the horse-changing station of
the Pest–Szeged mail coach route. After the coming of the railroad it was a restaurant called “Steve’s
Restaurant and Dance Hall” (Ét és Táncterem a Pistához) and it was not till the second half of the twenties
that it was converted into an orthodox synagogue remaining a place of worship until 1944. After that it was a
store, a warehouse, deteriorating into ruin.
With the help of the county local government, the National Institution for Monument Protection, the
Ministry of Cultural Affairs, and other supporters we reconstructed the building, making it suitable for
museum purposes, following the plans of Pál Boros, an Ybl-award winner architect. December 1990 the Hungarian
Photographic Foundation was found, a year later the gates of the Hungarian Museum of Photography were opened.
The Museum, which is maintained by the Foundation, has by now outgrown its original building, and is urged to
face expansion. Presently one can find a large exhibition hall (for temporary exhibitions), a showroom for
technological history, a bookshop, storage, a library and a few service rooms in the building.
