The Department Store courtyard at Piotrkowska 114/116

In the shared courtyard of the tenements at numbers 114 and 116 stands a building unlike any other on Piotrkowska Street: a freestanding, neoclassical pavilion of the former Department Store, with columns, capitals and rich stucco decoration on the facade. Instead of typical utility outbuildings, a small but grand trading hall rose at the back of the plot.

Jonasz Warszawski's Department Store

The pavilion was built between 1896 and 1899 for the merchant Jonasz Warszawski, designed by Franciszek Chełmiński. Beneath the building lie extensive cellars, originally used as cool storage for the market hall. Between 2003 and 2017 it housed the Atlas Sztuki Gallery, one of the more important contemporary art institutions in Łódź, since 2017 the building has been leased for other purposes, so its current use is worth checking on site.

Practical information

The courtyard is open to everyone from the street, the architecture of the pavilion itself, its columns and architectural detail, is visible from outside without needing to enter the building. Access to the interior depends on whoever is currently leasing it, it is sometimes rented out for one off events. This is one of those spots on Piotrkowska worth simply pausing at for a moment and walking around the pavilion, since only from several sides does it become clear how unusual its position is, standing in the middle of the shared courtyard of two neighbouring tenements. The tenement at Piotrkowska 114 is listed as Kamienica Janasza Warszawskiego.