At 11 Podskarbinska Street in Warsaw’s Praga-Południe district stands an inconspicuous and very neglected building. Bricked-up windows, a peeling façade covered with bohomazes and the surrounding area give the building a depressing and negative impression. Older Varsovians, however, know that the building hides a piece of history. This building is the former sports hall of the “Orzeł” Sports Club, designed between 1938 and 1939 by two later giants of Polish architecture: Maciej Nowicki (co-designer of the UN building in New York) and Zbigniew Karpiński.
Modernity in the suburbs of the capital
The reinforced concrete hall was completed just before the outbreak of the Second World War. It was an innovative building in terms of both construction and functionality. The cylindrical concrete roof, based on curvilinear forms, was a bold experiment in engineering and aesthetics. Columns were used on the sides of the hall, between which large windows were placed to provide natural lighting for the interior. The gable wall on the side of Podskarbinska Street bore the inscription ‘ORZEŁ’. The facility featured, among other things, a very unusual wooden swimming pool. The hall was intended to serve the local youth from the working-class families of Grochów, whom the “Orzeł” Sports Club taught discipline, fair competition and community.
Sports Club “Orzeł”
The club was founded in 1922 and quickly found itself at the forefront of the more important sports organisations of the right bank of Warsaw. From its inception, it focused on working with young people from indigent families, offering them training in many disciplines, including football, athletics, boxing, fencing and tennis. “The Eagle was very modern for its time. By the end of the 1930s it had a pitch, running track, courts and practice rooms. The modern hall on Podskarbinska Street was to complete this infrastructure as a multifunctional sports building, matching the aspirations of the capital at the time. The outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939 brutally interrupted the development of the club and the emerging, modern facilities. Sources lack detailed information about the fate of the hall during the German occupation, but it is known that it was not destroyed. After the war, however, it no longer performed its original function. It was transformed into a printing house and a warehouse for the Polish Optical Works.
Revival and slow decline
The second life of the dilapidated and forgotten building came with 1972, when a cycling track designed by engineer Janusz Kalbarczyk was built next to it, the so-called New Dynasy. This was a modern sports complex of the highest order. The hall of the former club was then slightly extended. It gained a gym, infirmary and club rooms, and was connected to the track by an underground passage. Over the next few years, sporting life was vibrant here, and the Eagle regained its status as one of the most important sporting centres in the area. The period of renewed prosperity did not last long, however. The political transformation brought a change of priorities, with the result that a lack of resources and institutional support led to the gradual degradation of the complex. In the 1990s, the hall functioned as a martial arts school, but was soon abandoned. From 1997 it was occupied by homeless people, which sealed the sad fate of the project by world-renowned architect Maciej Nowicki. The building was then leased to the Word of Life Christian Church. In 2014, the hall was placed on the register of historic buildings, but this has not improved its condition in any way.
The Eagle sports hall and hopes for the future
For several years, voices have been raised that the sports hall at Podskarbinska and the ruined cycling track should once again serve the residents. A public consultation initiated by the City Is Ours movement and the Nowe Dynasy initiative was launched in 2022. Their aim is to create an open, green and multifunctional recreational and sports area that will bring life back to this in many ways valuable yet forgotten place. The proposal is to refer to the history of cycling and the traditions of the ‘Eagle’ club. Today, the facilities are owned by the local government, namely the Praga-Południe Sports and Recreation Centre. The neighbouring stadium hosts local competitions, recreational events and training for young people. However, the Nowicki and Karpinski Hall is still waiting for its chance. The building is currently in a poor state of repair, as is the cycling track. The Mazovian Provincial Conservator of Monuments recently announced that the latter would be entered in the register of monuments. The district authorities have ended a long-standing property dispute with the club, which gives real hope for a change in the situation of the historic buildings.
Source: Miasto Jest Nasz, Nowe Dynasy
Read also: Architecture in Poland | Warsaw | City | Architect | Polish designers | Sport
