Wahala

History

Wahala was owned by Henrik Wahlström in 1756. In 1800 the house belonged to the bourgeois Erik Österberg. He also owned a small field, a food shed, a part of a reef and parts of a barn.

Modification drafts

The plot of Wahala is divided into two halves, the eastern half and the western half. In 1883, changes were made to the western part. The residential building along Kiviniemenkatu had no stone foundation and one was now to be built. The residential building had also been divided between two owners. The western half of the building had two rooms and a hallway. Now they wanted to separate a chamber from the hallway, which ran through the building, and make a fireplace and a six-paned window in the roof. The western half of the site also had outbuildings close to the residential building, on the northern boundary of the site. There was also an outbuilding on the same boundary, on the east side of the plot.

In 1893, changes were made to the buildings on the western half of the plot. A single porch with three entrances was built on the side of the residential building along the street, giving each of the three rooms its own entrance. The outbuilding on the northern boundary of the site was widened to provide a track shelter, a log cabin and a latrine in front of the three log rooms. The dwelling was lined with a three-storey Neo-Renaissance lining. The windows were T-pane with classical-style mouldings. The courtyard side porch was the height of the building and the gable was also moved to the center of the widened building. The courtyard side was simple: it had only three double doors with diagonal windows above them. The wall was horizontal boarded and was structured only by transverse mouldings and three windows on the attic floor.

In 1908, Arvi Leikari planned a major transformation of the buildings on the site. The plot is owned by the same owner as when the previous changes were made. There is a residential building along the street, which previously had a baker’s shop and two chambers on the west side and, in front of them on the courtyard side, apparently two porches and perhaps a shed, but not the single porch structure planned in 1893. At the other end of the building there were two rooms along the street and a part of the courtyard containing a kitchen and a porch. Now the intention was to create a single extension with three kitchens and a large bake house, plus two entrances. A porch with two entrances was built separately. The building was then divided into four apartments. The outbuilding was also to be extended. The residential building was given an Art Nouveau style. An Art Nouveau gate was built on the two roof sides of the plot. The 1912 drawing by Arvi Leikari refers to the outbuilding on the northern boundary of the plot. A couple of rooms in the outbuilding were replaced and the building was made smaller than in the previous plan.

The Wahala residential building was renovated in 1980. The building was converted into small city rental apartments, equipped with modern kitchen and washroom facilities. A high gate was built on the plot.

Behind the Wahala residence, partly on the site of an old outbuilding which had burnt down, and partly behind the plot, on an area left empty by the demolition of the leather factory, two new residential buildings were built in 1982 to house the town’s rental apartments.

Current situation

Building on Kiviniemenkatu:
Long-cornered residential building, later horizontal timbering, saddle roof.

Residential building with the end facing the Vänninvahte:
New building, housing for the elderly and disabled, built in the 1980s (City of Rauma).

Residential building with the end facing the Vänninvae (1980):
New building, housing for the elderly and disabled, built in the 1980s (City of Rauma).

Gate:
New gate, made using old models.