The care and restoration of historic buildings is a very broad topic. Many impressive initiatives have been carried out in the past, such as moving or rotating entire buildings to save them from demolition. Another no less interesting manifestation of human ingenuity and creative approach to the preservation of monuments is the Mikulski tenement house and its facade, a copy of which was incorporated into the Staszic palace on Nowy Świat Street in Warsaw. Thanks to this operation, part of the striking corner decoration was reproduced in another building as a unique memento of a building that no longer exists. This is a unique example of adapting a copy of a fragment of a building in a completely new architectural context.
Mikulski Tenement House – striking 19th-century architecture
The Wawrzyniec Mikulski tenement house, also known as the later Warsaw Discount Bank, was an important part of the surrounding development on Teatralny Square. The residential and commercial building was built in 1828 to a design by the famous Italian architect Antonio Corazzi, who gave it a classicist character that fitted well with its context. The three-storey structure, with its characteristic portico supported by Doric and Ionic columns, provided a striking setting for the north-west corner of the representative square.
Mikulski’s tenement house (Warsaw Discount Bank) in 1940. Source: National Archive in Warsaw
Wartime destruction and post-war reconstruction plans
The Mikulski townhouse, located on the corner of Senatorska and Bielańska Streets, was severely damaged during World War II. After 1945, the surviving fragment of the façade, including the characteristic portico with Doric and Ionic columns, was secured with the intention of reconstructing the building. At the same time, the reconstruction of the Staszic palace, which had also suffered damage during the war, was underway. As part of its expansion, a new wing was added, extending to the pierced Świętokrzyska Street. Thanks to the initiative of Piotr Biegański, who directed the works, the Doric Ionic portico was reproduced on one of the elevations of the palace courtyard. The façade perfectly matched the character of the building, whose author was also Corazzi himself. Meanwhile, in 1950 and 1953 competitions were held for the development of Theatre Square, which included the possibility of reconstructing Mikulski’s building. In the face of new urban planning concepts and political changes, however, the decision was made to demolish the ruins. The demolition itself took place in 1962. In their place, a new housing estate and a modernist pavilion were built.
The second life of the façade at Staszic Palace
Staszic Palace, built between 1820 and 1823, also to a design by Corazzi, originally served the Royal Society of the Friends of Science. In 1890, it was decided that the palace would house a boarding school and a men’s gymnasium, and with them the St. Tatiana Roman Catholic Church. The building was then rebuilt in Byzantine-Russian style, with a façade covered in coloured tiles and topped with an onion-shaped cupola. After independence, the edifice was restored to its classicist appearance and former interior layout. Along with the Second World War came considerable damage to the building, and after the end of the war it was decided to rebuild and extend the palace in the spirit of Corazzi architecture. As part of this, a copy of the facade of the Mikulski building was also made.
Mikulski’s tenement in 1940 and a copy of the façade in the courtyard of the Staszic palace today. Source: State Archive in Warsaw and WhiteMAD/Mateusz Markowski
Mikulski tenement – plans for reconstruction
Although Mikulski’s facade has been reconstructed in a new location, the tenement itself still remains an object of interest for architects and urban planners. In 1998, Gabriel Lisowski presented a concept for its reconstruction together with the construction of a modern office building and a musical theatre in the basement. Further plans to reconstruct the building appeared in 2007 and 2012 – this time also in an office building version, but these would not require the demolition of the existing block of flats, only the post-war pavilion. To date, however, none of these concepts has lived to see realisation.
Warsaw’s architectural heritage
The story of the façade of the Mikulski building is an example of extraordinary care for architectural heritage and the adaptation of its elements in new contexts. It is also a story of Warsaw’s turbulent history, where history and modernity are intertwined. Although the building itself did not survive, its reconstructed façade can still be admired as an integral part of the Staszic Palace, a reminder of the magnificent architecture of pre-war Warsaw.
Source: warszawa1939.pl, whu.org.pl
Read also: Architecture in Poland | Curiosities | Warsaw | Monument | History | Palace
Mikulski tenement house (Warsaw Discount Bank) in 1940 and the same place today. Source: National Archive in Warsaw and WhiteMAD/Mateusz Markowski
Side elevation from Senatorska Street in 1942 and the same place today. Source: National Archives in Warsaw and WhiteMAD/Mateusz Markowski
Facade of the Staszic Palace in 1945 and 2022. Source: National Archives in Warsaw and WhiteMAD/Mateusz Markowski
Nowy Świat Street and the reconstruction of the Staszic Palace in 1950 and the same place in 2025. Source: NAC – National Digital Archive and WhiteMAD/Mateusz Markowski
