AnalysisofspatialtransformationsanddevelopmentofthemainstreetsofthehistoricNowaPragadistrictinWarsaw 43
(including 330 foreigners), and a year later it employed
1,037 people (114 foreigners). At its peak, the factory
employed over 1,100 people, making it one of the largest
industrial plants in the agglomeration [4].
In the 1880s, there was a sharp increase in construction
activity in the suburb, due to the proximity of a prosperous
factory whose employees needed a permanent place of
residence located close to the steelworks. Although mainly
multi-family brick houses were built at that time, the char-
acteristic wooden houses still dominated the landscape of
Nowa Praga (Fig. 3b). Most of them housed workers of
the steelworks and the Warsaw–Petersburg Railway, and
the brick buildings were inhabited by the owners of near-
by factories and production plants and the middle class.
According to statistical data, in 1888 there were 253
buildings in Nowa Praga and 17 houses in the area be-
longing to the factory. The population was 4,211 people
(excluding migrant workers who were not included in the
permanent population records) [4]. At that time, a number
of brick one- and two-story tenement houses were built
(currently Stalowa 21, 28/30, 33). Some of the buildings
for which a building permit was issued were never built
or were later demolished (including the current Stalowa
29, 37, 39, 47).
The closure of the plant after only a decade of opera-
tion
8
and the numerous res that in the 1880s and 1890s
consumed the houses of Nowa Praga (a.o. in 1880 and
1893) [2], did not stop further development of the district
and in the last decade of the 19
th
century it was enriched by
further tenement houses (today Stalowa 14, 25, 34, 52, 54).
Despite the visible change in construction trends,
wooden houses were still willingly built in a layout typ-
ical of brick tenement houses (front building and side
annexes). At that time, a series of buildings was built on
Stalowa Street on the section between Czynszowa and
Szwedzka Streets (mainly on the northern side), as well
as along Średnia Street (on the entire length – mainly be-
tween Strzelecka and Kowieńska Streets).
The single-story house located at 9 Średnia Street is
the only witness to the times of wooden Nowa Praga that
has survived to this day. It was most likely built in the
1870s or 1880s for Elżbieta Sikorska
9
. In the following
years, it housed the seat of the Municipal Court, and in
1933, in the wooden house was located the Society of the
Friends of Street Children created by Kazimierz Lisiecki,
called “Grandpa” by his mentees. The rst people under
the care of the child support facility were small Warsaw
newspaper boys, vagabonds and orphans. In 1952, the
building was taken over by the Polish Red Cross, and the
Society of Friends of Street Children was liquidated [9].
8
The buildings of the former steelworks were taken over by the
Russian Imperial army in 1889 and artillery workshops were located
there, which were transformed into arms workshops in 1918.
9
In the 1860s, Elżbieta Sikorska purchased the property from
Ksawery Konopacki, which included the current addresses: Głosowa 7,
9, 11. There is no agreement as to the date of construction of the build-
ing. Some studies give the year 1869, others 1879. It is certain that the
building existed in this place in the 1890s, because it is marked on the
plans prepared by Lindley’s studio.
In December 1987, the building was entered into the Reg-
istry of Cultural Property. It currently houses the headquar-
ters of the Kazimierz Lisiecki Educational Centers Group,
a division of the Family Support Centre – Family Warsaw.
During this period, the rst modernization works on
the Nowa Praga’s. Both roads were graded and partial-
ly hardened with gravel. The paved paths stood out from
the rest of the streets in Nowa Praga, which were alter-
nately sandy or muddy [4, p. 16]. As reported by “Ku-
rier Warszawski” in 1880, it was Nowopragska Street, not
Środkowa Street (i.e., the original main street of Nowa
Praga), that was modernized rst [14].
Beginningofthe20
th
century
Despite the huge number of construction investments
undertaken during the operation of the steel plant, a large
part of the plots along Stalowa Street remained undevel-
oped. In addition, the pool of undeveloped properties in-
cludes areas parcelled out along the new section of the
street extended towards the esplanade line (Nowostalowa
Street). The beginning of the 20
th
century was full of fur-
ther construction investments, which led to the gradual
development of vacant plots (Fig. 4a). Mainly three- and
four-story brick tenement houses with richly decorated
facades were built (most of which were deprived of any
Fig. 4. Reconstruction of the building system:
a) at the beginning of the 20
th
century, b) in the interwar period
(elaborated by I. Krawiec based on [13])
Il. 4. Rekonstrukcje układu zabudowy:
a) na początku XX w., b) w dwudziestoleciu międzywojennym
(oprac I. Krawiec na podstawie [13])
a
b
