Vul. Lystopadovoho Chynu, 6 – Lviv House of the Scientists ID: 300

The structure known today as the Scientists' House on Lystopadovoho Chynu Street was built in 1898 for the National Casino. The Neobaroque design of the building was prepared by the Viennese architectural firm of F. Fellner and H. Helmer (Atelier Fellner & Helmer). These architects authored many prominent structures across various European cities, including the Odesa Opera House, the Music and Drama Theater in Chernivtsi, the Ivan Zajc Croatian National Theater, the Zurich Opera House, the Comedy Theatre in Budapest, the Vienna Konzerthaus, and the Ivan Vazov National Theatre in Sofia.

The plot under conscription No. 624 2/4, where the Casino building now stands, began to be developed in the first half of the nineteenth century. It was a rather large urban site extending northward from Sviatoiurska Road to ul. Podlewskiego (now vul. Hrebinky), which was laid out later. In the eighteenth century, a palace structure emerged at the rear of the plot. Around the early 1840s, a two-story tenement house was erected along Sviatoiurska Road, with outbuildings constructed along the perimeter. In 1867, a stable and carriage house located in the eastern wing were remodeled into residential quarters based on a design by Gabryel Müller. The owners leased out the attic of the single-story wing as a warehouse for paint barrels. In 1879, Juliusz and Gabryela Nahlik, owners of plot conscription No. 624 2/4, remodeled — or rather, completely rebuilt — a new three-story tenement house according to a design by architect Wojciech Haar. The architectural design of the new house was Classicist, featuring an offset main entryway, a long balcony emphasizing the two central axes, and vertical articulation on the façade.

At the end of the 1880s, new streets were laid out: ul. Brajerowska, which connected ul. Mickiewicza with Horodotska Road (now vul. B. Lepkoho), and ul. Podlewskiego (vul. Hrebinky). The Nahliks then sold off the northern section of their large plot under conscription No. 1772, 624 2/4, placing a long, narrow wooden shed along the boundary line. Lviv builders Jakób Kroch and Maurycy Silberstein became co-owners of the northern part of the plot (No. 624 2/4), and in 1891, they built three three-story houses on it with addresses on the newly laid ul. Podlewskiego.

In 1897, the city purchased the Nahliks' property with the intention of erecting a casino building on the site. That same year, the design was developed by the Viennese architectural firm of Ferdinand Fellner and Hermann Helmer. Construction works were directed by Lviv builders Napoleon Luszczkiewicz and Zygmunt Pszorn. The sculptural ornamentation of the façades was designed by Austrian sculptor Rudolf Weyr and brought to life by Teodor Friedl and Reinhold Völkel. The lavish, carved wooden interior was manufactured by Sándor Járay at the Lviv factory of the Wczelak brothers. The painted panels of the overdoors in the foyer were created by Lviv artists Stanisław Dembicki, Stanisław Rejchan, Tadeusz Rybkowski, and Michał Sozański. The alabaster fireplace in the foyer was crafted by sculptor Edmund Pliszewski with the assistance of master stonemason Julian Hura. In 1898, the Casino building was completed.

In 1902, a ground-floor wing was built along the northern boundary of the plot according to a design by architect Alfred Kamienobrodzki, who also supervised the reconstruction of the sewerage system. Until 1939, the National Casino held various names — including the Aristocratic, Count's, or Noble Casino — though it was most frequently referred to as "Gerhard's Casino". The Soviet occupying authorities dissolved the entertainment establishment, transferring the premises to the regional House of the Scientists. In March 1941, architectural measurements and measured survey drawings were completed by engineers Shyrman and Zilberman. The plans of the Soviet authorities were interrupted by the German occupation, meaning that the Lviv House of the Scientists has officially operated here since 1948. Numerous events in the scientific, socio-political, and creative life of Lviv, the region, and Ukraine are associated with it. Individual rooms of the building were used for various cultural and educational classes, such as music and dance; a cloakroom was placed on the ground floor of the rear semicircular wing, while the library reading room was situated on the upper floor. Until 1953, four rooms on the ground floor were occupied by the Lviv Branch of the Union of Architects of Ukraine. On September 14 of that year, during a plenary session on the planning and development of cities in the western regions of Ukraine, a fire broke out due to a faulty electrical grid, causing significant damage to the building. Post-fire repairs were conducted by the all-Ukrainian firm "Stroymonument". Notably, the damaged fabric wallpapers were replaced with ones made from brown and gray-blue upholstery fabric, featuring a pattern applied with oil paint. In 1954, following the reconstruction and restoration of the building, the Union of Architects was stripped of its right to use the premises.

In 1974, design documentation was prepared to adapt the semi-basement floor for use as a bar, and in 1976, on-site surveys of the building were conducted and a budget for restoration work was compiled. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, the then Lviv Special Scientific-Restoration Workshop — later the "Ukrzakhidproektrestavratsiia" Institute —  developed design documentation for various restoration works in the Scientists' House (led by architects Ihor Starosolskyi, Yevhen Sobolevskyi, Kost Prysiazhnyi, Mykola Prokopovych, Ye. Kozymka, O. Shpolianskyi, structural engineer Yu. Vasylenko, and others). Repair and restoration works were carried out from the late 1880s until 1995, notably including the restoration of the façade, individual architectural details of the exterior and interior, implementation of the library equipment project, and landscaping of the courtyard. In 1999, repair and restoration works were conducted to adapt the rooms of the Scientists' House for the press center of the Summit of Presidents of Central and Eastern European Countries, which took place that same year.

On February 26, 1980, by Resolution No. 130 of the Lviv Regional Executive Committee, the building was entered into the registry of monuments of local significance as an administrative building. On September 23, 2008, the Scientists' House was included in the list of cultural heritage monuments not subject to privatization.

The former National Casino building stands as one of Lviv's most striking Neobaroque architectural monuments, perfectly preserving the luxurious spirit of a turn-of-the-century secular salon.