Alojzy Balle Tenement House

The tenement at Piotrkowska 87 stands on a plot that has been built upon since the first decades of the street's existence. In the same place, just in front of the façade, stands today the Teddy Bear Monument, one of the more frequently photographed spots on the walking route.

The first owners of the plot

The plot at today's number 87 was occupied in the 1830s successively by weaver settlers: first Jan Bebernitz, then Franciszek Maschke. In 1847 it was taken over by Fryderyk Wertschitzki, who built the house jointly with Jan Gabriel May. The plot was for a time jointly owned by both families, with a clause in the 1850 agreement stating that a tavern could never be opened on the half belonging to May. By the end of the 1860s, May was already the sole owner of the entire property.

Alojzy Balle and the construction of the tenement

From the early 1880s the property belonged to Alojzy Balle, a merchant and manufacturer, after whom the tenement took its name. In 1882 he erected a two-storey outbuilding, the first brick structure on this plot. The three-storey front tenement, visible today from the street side, was erected according to a design from 1893. The design was created by architect Alwill Jankau.

The Schwalbe family

Around 1910 the heirs of Alojzy Balle sold the property to the married couple Zofia and Henryk Schwalbe. Until the outbreak of the Second World War the tenement remained the property of this family. Henryk Schwalbe ran a lingerie and haberdashery shop in Łódź at Piotrkowska 55, and his brothers Paweł and Maks Schwalbe ran a men's haberdashery shop in the tenement itself at number 87.

Piotrkowska 87 on the walk

The building stands in a densely built section of the street, close to other rental tenements from the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. Neighbouring it are the Fiszele Wajkselficz Tenement House at number 92, the Siemens Tenement House at number 96 and the Buta House at number 98. All stand on the same side of the pedestrian precinct, so it is easy to view them one after another.

Practical information

• Address: Piotrkowska 87, Łódź
• Getting there: on foot or by tram to stops on Piotrkowska Street or Kościuszko Avenue
• What to expect: the façade of a rental tenement from the late 19th century, right next to the Teddy Bear figure