House of the Partnership for the Arrangement of Housing of the Petrovsky Commercial School - frieze with owls

Malyy Ave. P.S., 32, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 197198

One of the interesting Art Nouveau buildings is located on Malyy Prospekt of the Petrograd Side. It is the former house of the Partnership for the Arrangement of Housing of the Petrovsky Commercial School. Under the window openings of the fifth floor runs a molded frieze with an alternating pattern of drooping laurel leaves and mascarons depicting owls; below is a shield with the head of Medusa Gorgon, an attribute of the goddess Athena, and the head of the god Hermes — symbols of trade, embodying wealth.

Petersburg: The Hunt for Owls in Architectural Decor

This five-story building is one of the interesting examples of Art Nouveau architecture in Saint Petersburg. The building is adorned with a large amount of stucco and reliefs. Below the window openings of the fifth floor runs a molded frieze with an alternating pattern of drooping laurel leaves and mascarons depicting owls; beneath it is a shield with the head of Medusa Gorgon, an attribute of the goddess Athena, and the head of the god Hermes — symbols of trade, embodying wealth. The central figure of the facade decoration of the Commercial School Partnership’s building is the genius of glory in the form of a beautiful young girl standing on a sphere and holding a garland of laurel leaves. The winged genius of glory is called the "guardian angel of these places," and the building itself is known as the "house with the angel."

You can learn more about this building here: https://reveal.world/story/dom-tovarishchestva-po-ustrojstvu-zhilishch-petrovskogo-kommercheskogo-uchilishcha

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More stories from Petersburg: The Hunt for Owls in Architectural Decor

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