Ruahola

History

According to the 1800 tax list, the house was owned by the bourgeois Mich. Qvarnberg. He also had some arable land.

Modification drafts

An 1889 drawing of the modification of some of the buildings on the site shows the situation at the time. There was a residential building along Eteläpitkäkatu, an outbuilding and a residential building on the Isopoikkikatu side, and another outbuilding near the western boundary of the plot. The change concerned a residential building on the south side of the street and an outbuilding on the west side. The main building was a semi-detached house at the base, with a chamber at the rear of the entrance hall and a room on one side and a hall on the other. At the end of the hall was a further chamber. At the end of the hall and chamber was a plank porch with a door to both the hall and chamber. The renovation involved raising the building and adding a new three-tiered neo-renaissance façade.

The outbuilding had a log stable and barn, with a toilet and manure shed on the ferry between them. A ferry barn was also built.

Changes were made to the residential building facing Isopoikkikatu in 1899. The building had a baker’s pantry with an adjoining chamber and chambers with their own entrances at each end. The baker’s room and the second chamber were accessed via a porch with two staircases. A separate porch was built for the second chamber, and the baking oven was moved. The building was given an exterior with a vertical planked wall and T-pane windows framed with simple neo-Renaissance moulding. In 1905, the exterior of the building facing Isopoikkikatu was raised and a small chapel was added to the courtyard. In 1906, two new kitchens and entrances were added to the courtyard side, where the porch is located. The baking oven was demolished. The building was converted into a two-room plus kitchen, a room plus kitchen, and a separate room. A kitchen was designed for the building on the south side of the courtyard in place of the porch and a new small board porch was built in front of it. Four small sheds were added to the outbuilding. The addition of a kitchen to the courtyard porch of the building on the south side was not completed until 1917, when it was decided to demolish the baking oven in the barn and turn the front room into a kitchen. A couple of years later, it was decided to build a baking oven in the small kitchen on the porch.

A new outbuilding was built on the site in 1928, which at least removed the long outbuilding on the side of the courtyard. The new outbuilding was stone, cement brick, and had a pent roof. Facilities included a garage, sauna, barn, wood sheds, privy and above-ground basement cellars.

In 1940, the room at the south end of the building facing Isopoikkikatu was converted into a separate stove room with its own entrance. In 1954, the separate room at the north end was converted into a kitchen, which was joined with the adjacent room to form a room and kitchen apartment.

In 1982, alterations were made to the north end of the residential building facing Isopoikkikatu. A toilet and shower room were added to the porch. The kitchen was modernised. The wood stove was preserved. One door of the second porch was closed. The following year, the sauna in the outbuilding was repaired and a fence and gate were planned for the site, but not immediately completed.

Current situation

Residential building parallel to Eteläpitkäkatu
Long-cornered residential building, hipped roof. Neo-Renaissance lining in 1889, features of which survive in the courtyard

Residential building parallel to Isopoikkikatu
Residential building with long corners, pantile lining, neo-renaissance window mouldings in 1899

Exterior building
Brick exterior in 1928 (Kaino Kari).