Warsaw The golden Warsaw of yesteryear and today From its very outset, Złota street, or, appropriately Gold street in English, attracted attention with its unequalled appearance and atmosphere. Let us take a short trip through the history of this extraordinary locality. The history of Warsaw is quite long and reaches the 13th century. Over time, the city grew bigger, changed greatly and so did its streets. Złota was no different. It’s story begins around the year 1770, when it was drawn on the city’s plans to join Warsaw with the Bożydar-Kawęczyn jurydyka. At first, the street had rare and rather short wooden buildings. The farms surrounding them were neither a forecast of what was to come. One hundred years later, by the end of the 19th century, Warsaw witnessed a great development boom. At that time, the importance and prestige of the Złota street began to increase significantly. It became filled with beautifully ornamented, tall tenement houses and the western part of the street was home for multiple industrial facilities, such as the Czech Škoda repair plant. At the same time Złota was gaining its merchant – residential character. Many new mercantile establishments were opened, the likes of the Uciecha cinema and more exclusive and luxurious shops and boutiques. The latter few were to define the neighborhood for the next decades Over centuries Złota street was home for quite a few edifices that permanently integrated into the landscape of Warsaw – i.e. the modern Assicurazioni Generali Trieste building, or the famous neo-renaissance Krongold’s tenement house. One will not find the urbane and refined feel of the old Warsaw, with its palaces, narrow streets and royal pedigree – this was the city aiming for the future, showing how its development can link with tradition. Richly ornamented facades of residential and commercial buildings, tramway number 7, the metropolitan feel – these were the things that made Złota a great example of why Warsaw was also known as “Paris of the North”. Just like the aforementioned buildings from the past, ZŁOTA 44 has also left its mark on Warsaw. Its modern, wing – shaped form, is not only an architectural novelty by a famous architect, but has become the next icon of the established through centuries fiber of the city’s center. Nowadays the old Złota street is no more. Most of the erstwhile buildings are gone, the landscape of the entire capital has changed significantly. However, one has not been affected even a bit: the incontestable metropolitan character, today presented in a completely new, modern view. An adequate direction in urban management around ZŁOTA 44 – pleasant verdure and comfortable benches for the passers-by – will definitely help to bring the old spark back to this place and the next spiritual successor of the pre-war city will settle at the heart of the capital.
