Iso-Kirwelä

History

In 1800, the land was owned by Thomas Welin, a town governor.

Modification drafts

The oldest surviving alteration drawing dates from 1900. It was drawn by Arvi Forsman. The drawing shows that before the alteration the rooms were two chambers next to the gate, a kitchen with a large baking oven in the middle, a narrow hallway, and on the other side of it another chamber, narrower than the rest of the building. On the courtyard side were two small porches. On the eastern boundary of the property was an outbuilding with two rooms of log and two rooms of board construction. At the rear of the plot, on its southern boundary, there is another outbuilding.

The modification involved widening the frame of the residential building on the courtyard side and creating a wing along the eastern boundary of the plot. According to the drawing, it appears that only the walls at the street side and the end walls were left in their former positions. All the partition walls were moved. The building consisted of two apartments, one with two small chambers along the street and a kitchen and pantry on the courtyard side. In front of the entrance was a small porch. The second apartment had two chambers along the street, a chamber in the new wing and a kitchen with a baking oven. This apartment also had an entrance hall with stairs leading up to the attic. The outbuilding on the eastern boundary of the site was demolished and the building on the southern boundary was extended with a new toilet block, which provided a separate toilet block for both apartments and a storage room below.

At some point, the street side had become the entrance to the shop and a shop window. In 1940, one more window was added and the room next to the gate was connected to the shop. In 1971, the outbuilding was demolished and the residential wing was extended with a low-pitched roofed section to include a sauna, a room for the central heating boiler and a garage.

In 1995, changes were planned for the residential part of the building facing Vanhankirkonkatu. Plans included renovating the kitchen, a new toilet, a new porch and closing the entrance to the commercial building on the roof side. On the attic floor, the intention was to build a lobby, three bedrooms, a toilet, a washroom and a cloakroom. All the attic spaces are to be used for residential purposes. Two new window sashes would be added on the courtyard side. The plans were drawn up by Markus Bernoulli.

Current situation

Residential building
Short-cornered residential building, neo-renaissance lining 1900 (Arvi Forsman), shop windows. Extension, outbuilding wing 1971 (Toivo Heljala).

A gate of the type common in the early 20th century.