Alberta Street 13, Riga

Decorative Ornaments of Historic Building FacadeApartment building, Alberta Street 13

The central projections of both facades are crowned with several-level pediments full of sculptural reliefs of masks, dragons, cartouches, straight and curved lines, circles and other geometric figures. The central mask with its beaming diadem is a symbol of freedom, the sun or victory. The facade also offers a good look at the image of women which was so typical of Art Nouveau. There are full sculptures above the attic cornice, a number of large and small masks, busts above the main cornice, and a glorifying relief full of inspired pathos at the corner of the building. Some of the faces of the women are dreamy, others are laughing, and still others have grabbed their head in a scream of horror. The two enormous masks on the Alberta Street facade are also screaming. Above them there are structures in the shape of upended cones. These support the bay windows on the attic floor, visually framing the central projection and dominating the entire façade. Diverse symbolic motifs can be seen in almost all of the countless elements of decoration. The peacock with its spread tail feathers was a common symbol of glory in Art Nouveau. There are heads of knights who are making sure that feminine beauty if properly protected We see flowers and geometric forms full of the typically Art Nouveau lines. There are snakes as the symbol of attention and cunning, along with a whole series of other decorations. The metal railings of the balconies are also of typical Art Nouveau Line. The Soros Foundation bought the building in 1998 and turned it over to the Rīga School of Law. The building was reconstructed for the needs of the school from 1999 until 2002. The facade was restored very precisely, as were all of the valuable details in the ornate interior.
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