communists). The retrofit was to take place in four stages, during which the building would allocate rooms for a bigger library and centers or workshops for chess, miniature aircraft, automobiles, radiophony, photography, painting, choreography and dance, history, and ceramics. In addition to the retrofits, the palace was also to be used as a cinema and auditorium. The Pioneers' Palace, however, was not inaugurated until June 1, 1950 — approximately one year after it was meant to be inaugurated. Modifications by the socialist regime (1949–1976) After the abdication of King Michael I, the new government made several well-documented changes to the palace: On the ground floor Hanging lamps from the principal entrance were unmounted. Plaster ornaments – as well as the anthropomorphic gable over the stairs of honor – were either detached, forced down, or broken. Stucco marble pilasters and boards were covered with clay and paint. They were also perforated for the mounting of electrical cords or piping for heat. On the first floor The neo-German-style living room and the Golden Salon were destroyed. All of the Ruse stone columns from the White Salon (known also as the Cerchez salon) were painted with dark ash polyvinyl paint. All of the space within the new living room (planned by Grigore Cerchez) and kitchen were transformed. On the second floor All of the spaces used by the children of the royal family – as well as the loggia area towards the principal courtyard – were emptied of any finishes. The dormitory of Ferdinand I was completely destroyed. All of the spaces between the Ferdinand I's dormitory and Maria's painting salon, save for the cherry wood stairs, were dismantled. On the third floor The spaces on this floor have all been modified radically. In 1976, during the regime of Nicolae Ceaușescu, the Cotroceni Palace once again changed its purpose after its transfer to the State Protocol (Protocolul de Stat). Its new function would be as a residential building – a guest house. 1977 Vrancea earthquake In 1977, an earthquake measuring 7.2 on the Richter scale struck Vrancea County and damaged several buildings in Bucharest. The Cotroceni Palace was among those buildings, and suffered such extensive damage that a project had to be commissioned for restoration and consolidation. National Cotroceni Museum The Cotroceni National Museum is the old Royal Palace, built in 1895. In 1991 the palace became the headquarters of the Romanian Presidency