Vul. Levytskoho, 23 – residential building

The house no. 23 is located withing a block of buildings of various years of construction. It stands out among the surrounding houses, as it is set back from the sidewalk making hence a garden before its façade. Also, there is some free space between this and the neighboring building no. 25.

The house was erected at the time when there was a river along the street. This stream called Pasika, was a right tributary to the river Poltva. Its water supply came from a source called Prybylo in Pohulianka via wooden pipes. Therefore, the street which originated along Pasika's riverbed, was originally called "Na Rurach" (Ger. Röhren Gasse), as early as the 17^th century, meaning Pipe street. In 1885, it was renamed into Jan Kochanowski street (a Polish poet), and in 1941-1944, it was called Breitegasse (wide street) during Nazi occupation. From 1950 till 1992, it bore the name of Vladimir Mayakovski, the Soviet poet. Its present name is after Kost Levytskyi (1859-1941), a Ukrainian politician and public figure, a longtime Galician Diet and Reichsrat member, the first Prime Minister of the ZUNR. He also owned a house (no. 34) on this street in the late 19^th – early 20^th century.

In the early 19^th century, there were two larger plots here (conscription no. 366 4/4 and 367 4/4) with two separate owners. Later, they were further divided into yet smaller ones. First brick houses appeared here in middle of the century. One of the plots here was owned by Josef Svoboda, a well-known artist of Czech origin. Later in the century, his real estate got divided in two (now buildings no. 21-21a and 23 stand on them). Apart from Svoboda, archival sources mention also Bronisław Mrażek, Marya Halper, née Kaniewska, Marya Wiksel, née Goldhaber, Zofia Reiss, née Wisl, and others as real estate owners.

In 1887 Władysław Godowski, an architect and builder acquired a plot here. At the time he resided at ul. Długosza, 33 (present-day Kyryla i Mefodiya). He purchased part of the plot no. 616 4/4 from Józef and Stefania Maciulski (sale contract of 6 October 1887). Next year, he designed and built a two-storied house here. According to the current building code at the time, a regulation line was established here. Godowski perimetered the real estate with a brick and metal fence and constructed a wooden bridge over the Pasika. The plot was conscripted as no. 657 4/4 ("orientational" no. 7a).

In 1896 Karol and Helena Gruby purchased this house from Godowski. They commissioned Michał Kowalczuk, an architect, to move the entrance gate and arrange a wicket in the fence, as "the existing one was not convient as it opened directly on the house's stairs." In January 1897 the owners sought to enlarge their plot by adding a part of the "road parcel." They appealed to the Magistrate with a request. In 1901 they undertook to cover the cost of connecting their real estate (a townhouse consisting of two apartments, two toilets and two kitchens) to the city water mains. The works were carried out by Władysław Niemeksza, an installation engineer.

In 1904, Polish St. Hubert Hunters' Association rented rooms in the Grubys' house. In the same year, Magistrate punished the owner for illegally constructing a wooden shed for a power generator (10 crown fine and one day of arrest). The shed was dismantled subsequently in early 1905 after Karol Gruby died, having left an underage son Jakób-Jan.

In 1911, Mennonite community "Kiernica-Lwów" bought this house. They arranged a hall for divine service here, an office space and apartment for the pastor, as well as a dormitory for Mennonite students. According to address books in 1913, the Jan Müller, a real estate owner, Aleksander Müller, a financial institution employee, and Henryk Pauls, a Mennonite pastor resided here. In 1923 the community was granted permission to add a floor. The subsequent reconstruction was completed in the summer of 1925. Four rooms, two toilets, and a bathroom as well as a storage room were arranged . According to the inventory, apartments made up the first floor of the house; a large prayer hall was located on the second.

Due to the river proximity, the building  had been damp for years, as testify some of the tenants' complaints, e.g. in 1936.

Since 1939, the Soviets' advent to power, the townhouse was nationalized and adapted for housing. In the 2010s, the window woodwork was partially replaced with plastic; the wooden porch in the back of the townhouse was walled up. In 2016 the townhouse was bought by deputies of the Lviv city council to adapt it for a hotel. In 2017 it was entered in the Register of Cultural Heritage of Ukraine as an architectural monument of local significance.