Warsaw’s Grzybowska Street will soon undergo significant changes. One of the elements of this transformation will be the demolition of Antoni Stradecki’s tenement house at number 46. The decision not to include the building in the register of monuments was made by the Mazovian Voivodeship Conservator of Monuments after analysing the opinion of the National Heritage Institute and on the basis of his own inspections.
History of the building at 46 Grzybowska Street
The Grzybowska 46 tenement house, although inconspicuous at first glance, has a rich and turbulent history. Its construction began in 1939, but the outbreak of the Second World War made it impossible to complete the project. Initially, it was to be one of the most modern townhouses in the area, but its fate took a different turn. After 1945, unplastered and provisionally finished, it has survived to the present day thanks to its solid reinforced concrete construction, while its entire surroundings have been dramatically transformed. After the war, the property was due to go under the pick in connection with the construction of the Estate behind the Iron Gate, but the decision to demolish it was put on hold. Today the building stands abandoned.
Symbolic significance of the building
Although architecturally the building does not stand out for its special value, its historical significance cannot be overestimated. It is the only surviving relic of the old buildings between today’s Jana Pawła II Street and Żelazna Street. Moreover, during the occupation, the building was located within the boundaries of the Warsaw Ghetto, witnessing those tragic events. The tenement also went down in pop culture – in 1972 it became the set of the cult film by Stanisław Bareja, “Wanted, Wanted”.
46 Grzybowska Street – attempts to save the tenement house
Due to its historical significance, the building has become the subject of community efforts to protect it. In the summer of 2023, the “Stone and What?” association applied for the tenement to be entered in the register of historical monuments, wanting to save it from demolition. Unfortunately, both the National Heritage Institute, the Mazovian Provincial Conservator of Monuments and the Capital Conservator of Monuments considered that the technical condition and limited architectural value of the building did not justify its protection.
What next?
With plans to redevelop Grzybowska Street, the decision to demolish the building became inevitable. The building, which for years has been a reminder of pre-war Warsaw, will soon make way for new infrastructure. Thus, the capital will lose another fragment of its history, and with it the last surviving trace of the old buildings in this part of Wola. The impending demolition is a symbol of the inevitable changes that are taking place in a developing city. The question of how much of its past Warsaw can sacrifice for the future remains open.
Source: Stone and what?, ABC Warszawy
Read also: Architecture | Tenement | Modernism | History | Warsaw | Curiosities
Fragments of the tenement house in the film “Wanted, Wanted” in 1972 and today. Photo: Dailymotion and WhiteMAD/Mateusz Markowski
