On Wednesday, 9 April 2025, the JGL Pharmacy Museum, Rijeka City Museum and Sušak Residents’ Club unveiled a commemorative plate on the Alga Palace in Rijeka. It commemorates Dinko Budak and Vladimir Kezele, founders of the Alga Sušak Pharmacy and Cosmetic Laboratory, its manufacture and business, and the work of architect David Bunetta.
Eva Usmiani Capobianco, President of JGL’s Board of Directors, and Marin Pintur, Director of the JGL Museum, held a speech on behalf of JGL, while Director Mladen Urem spoke on behalf of the Rijeka City Museum. Also present were Rijeka Mayor Marko Filipović, representative of the Sušak Residents’ Club Mirjana Marinić, and family members of the founders Nino Radetić and Vladimir Kezele, who unveiled the plaque.
“The Alga Pharmacy and Cosmetic Laboratory was a modern pharmaceutical company based in Sušak. It left a mark on the economic history of Rijeka and Sušak in the first half of the 20th century and employed over 50 people. What remains now is the Alga Palace as a symbol of the significance and operation of the Alga Sušak Pharmacy and Cosmetic Laboratory,” says Museum Director Pintur, adding that the idea for the plaque as a permanent marker for the Alga Palace that housed the lab came about after an exhibit and catalogue created by Rijeka City Museum and JGL Pharmacy Museum in 2023. The plaque is the crowning achievement of the efforts to create a permanent record of the story of Alga Sušak, thus fulfilling one of the missions of the JGL Pharmacy Museum – active participation in the life of the local community, he adds.
According to the Director of the Rijeka City Museum, Mladen Urem, Alga Sušak deserves the recognition, not only as an unusual economic undertaking of the time, but also because of the importance it had among the population.
“This is another step with which the JGL Pharmacy Museum continues to fulfill its fundamental goal of affirming pharmacy in our region, and preserving, presenting and valuing Rijeka’s rich pharmaceutical heritage. This is our way of preserving the memory of the accomplishments of our people and our rich heritage, which we are committed to protecting and passing on to future generations,” said Usmiani Capobianco at the opening ceremony.
The Alga Palace is located between the Piramida – Plumbum city road and Promenade of the XIIIth Division. It was the first major project of architect David Bunetta, who built a large part of Sušak. It was originally planned as a simple four-storey building, but it was ultimately built as a modern five-storey building with a pronounced central avant-corps, and details such as a round window and exit leading to the roof terrace. Alga’s lab was located on the mezzanine. It had rooms for preparing, storing and shipping products, arranged around a central skylight, a perfumery, and south-facing offices.
An interesting fact is that the Alga Laboratory had its own post office, where orders for Alga products were prepared and sent around the world. A modern staircase enclosed in glass, which stands out from the rest of the building due to its height, leads to the upper floors that house storage and living spaces. There were nine luxuriously furnished apartments that could be leased at a price equal to the average salary at the time. The use permit for the building at Prestolansljednikovo šetalište 3 was issued on 5 June 1937.