Dawid Szmulewicz's tenement house, Art Nouveau tenement house in Katedralna district, Łódź, Poland.
Dawid Szmulewicz's tenement house is a brick building at Piotrkowska Street 37 featuring a distinctive Art Nouveau facade designed by Gustaw Landau-Gutenteger. The structure blends Art Nouveau with eclectic design elements that reflect early 20th-century architectural tastes in Łódź.
The property was originally built in 1887 by Icek Lejb Kon and purchased by Dawid Szmulewicz in 1894, who commissioned a complete redesign. The rebuilt structure was completed in 1904 as part of Łódź's broader urban transformation during its industrial expansion.
The building housed an important library service launched in the 1940s that lent books to young readers throughout the city. This innovative initiative made reading materials accessible to children and teenagers at a time when such services were rare.
The tenement house sits in the downtown area along Piotrkowska Street, a lively commercial strip lined with shops and cafes. The location is easy to access and surrounded by walkable surroundings with plenty of local businesses.
The building is often overlooked for its role in housing the city's first library service dedicated to lending books to young readers. This cultural contribution reveals how the structure served purposes beyond its striking architecture during a transformative period.
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