Vul. Kurbasa, 3 – Les Kurbas Lviv Academic Theatre ID: 307

The former variety theatre building (1909, architects Zygmunt Fedorski, Stanisław Macudziński). An example of early twentieth-century "modernized" Historicism. The exterior design draws heavily on Gothic motifs combined with decorative elements characteristic of Secession. Today (as of 2009), it houses the Les Kurbas Lviv Academic Theatre.

Story

From 1920 to 1944, the building housed the "Bagatela" cabaret with a dance hall. Starting in 1940, the premises were allocated to the State Regional Philharmonic, which included an orchestra, a Ukrainian choral kapelle, a variety art section, and soloists (pursuant to the decree of the Council of People's Commissars of the Ukrainian SSR on the organization of theatres dated December 19, 1939).

Later, a specialized music and theatre library, as well as the House of Folk Creativity, were located in the building.

Architecture

This is a five-story, plastered brick building with a pyramidal, tile-covered roof, integrated into the dense development of the city block.

Vertical accents predominate in the composition of the façade. At the level of the three upper floors, the façade wall is articulated by clustered engaged columns that rest on corbels decorated with masks and terminate in Gothic turrets and gargoyle sculptures. A parapet with tracery is installed above the cornice. The vertical accents are complemented by the horizontals of the cornices and belt courses that divide the façade into tiers. A wide balcony projects above the central entrance, which connects to the theatre foyer. Access to the upper floors is provided via a side portal. The windows are lancet-arched and rectangular.

In plan, the building has a trapezoidal shape. The lower floors are occupied by a horseshoe-shaped auditorium with a stage. The upper floors contain the rooms of a former hotel, featuring a corridor-sectional layout system.

The exterior decoration extensively utilizes motifs from the Gothic repertoire (lancet arches, pinnacles, tracery, etc.) combined with decorative elements typical of Secession. Some details of the original interior decoration have been preserved in the auditorium.

People

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