The tenement house of the Gas Works standing at Kredytowa 3 (then Erywańska) was built for the German Continental Gas Company of Dessau. It was this company that built the first gasworks in the capital of the Kingdom of Poland, locating it in Powisle.The gasworks began operating in 1856 and the building was designed by Franciszek Lilpop and Karol Jankowski
It was erected in 1905-1909, when the aforementioned Gas Society from Dessau built the Gasworks on Czystem (the area of today’s Wola) and decided to purchase this plot of land for the construction of a residential building for the management. In 1925, the gasworks was communalised. The building was taken over by the city, but continued to serve as the headquarters of the Gasworks Board
The tenement today. Photo: whiteMAD/Mateusz Markowski
The buildings on Kredytowa Street already suffered during the defence of Warsaw in September 1939. During the Warsaw Uprising, the street was the scene of fierce fighting, including over the building of the Ziemski Credit Society. At that time, several buildings were completely demolished and several others burnt down. After the war, some of the buildings on the street were rebuilt. The tenement house of the Gas Works at Kredytowa 3 survived the Second World War without major damage. The building was renovated and today houses the offices of the city council. The tenement house is one of the most interesting and representative buildings in this part of the capital. Despite the war damage, interesting details can still be seen: the Art Nouveau mermaid, sunflowers, Art Nouveau windows, burning hearts and putti. The façade also still bears traces of insurgent fighting and is covered with gunshots. In 2012, all of the buildings on Kredytowa Street, with the exception of the block of flats at number 2, were included in the municipal register of monuments (including buildings already listed in the register of monuments)
Source: polskaniezwykla.pl, dziendobrywarszawo.pl
Read also: Architecture | Tenement | Secession | City | Warsaw | Architecture in Poland
