House at Wolska St. 6
Main data:
Year of construction: 1938/39
Designer: ???
Location: ul. Wolska 6
Before Second World War in the area of today intersection of Okopowa street and Solidarnosci Avenue there was one of the biggest and most colourful marketplaces in Warsaw. It was called Kercelak, which was a modified form of the official name - Plac Kercelego (Kerceli Square). Although this name functions unofficially till today, nearly nothing has survived from the surrounding houses, also the streets' system has changed a little bit.
The only object that did survived is a lonely house at Wolska street 6. It does not have a pretty appearance or many architectural details. But the fact that it is the only house left from the pre-war times in this area should be enough argument for its preservation.
It is not clear when exactly the house was constructed or who had designed it. But in the documentation of so-called Dimensions Department (a pre-war unit of the town hall, which had a task was to catalogue all buildings in the city) we can see that already in 1938 a different house, a one-floored one, with an attic, stood in this place. But on the after-war ortophoto from 1945, presenting destroyed Warsaw we can see the present building. Its front part seems to be undamaged during the war, however, side annexes (closer to today's Solidarnosci Avenue) were destroyed. Thus, the house must have been built in 1938 or 1939. Jerzy Kasprzycki wrote in the 5th part of "Korzenie Miasta" ("Roots of the City") about the 4th Department of Municipal Savings Bank which was located before the war at Wolska Street 6, a photo included in that book seems to present the today's building.
Today, since few years the house has been devastated and uninhabited. The place where it stands (sometimes called a "Wola cheese" because of an unusual shape of the plot) is one of the most attractive investment areas in this part of the city. There are not many so large undeveloped areas in the surrounding. An idea of constructing here a residential complex (by AZO company) even appeared, but for now this ideas cannot be realised because of legal problems (difficult ownership status). Now the area in the surrounding of this lonely house is used for functions that are rather inappropriate for the city centre: in the summer time often a circus or a funfair stands here, and before Christmas the biggest and the most popular marketplace with Christmas trees is located here.
It is worth mentioning that a local plan of development of the area of Towarowa and Okopowa streets, which is currently being worked out, indicates this area as a terrain for office and residential development, with even 150-metre-high skyscraper, but also points out the necessity of preservation and restoration of this house. But till now this plan was not resolved yet, so the future of this historic house (one of only a few pre-war houses in this area) is still unsure.
(C) 2001-2010 Maciej Blazejewski