Balasta Dambis (Ballast Dam), Riga

Balasta Dambis (Ballast Dam) is a street and historical hydrotechnical building in Kipsala, Kurzeme district, Riga. The Balasta Dambis begins at the intersection with the Raņķa Dambis, crosses the Zund (Azen), and extends along the Agenskalns Bay to Krišjāņa Valdemāra Street. On the other side of the Kr. Valdemāra Street Balsta Dambis continues along the bank of the Daugava till Gipsha Street.

History
The first dam, also known as the Kipsala and Podrags Dam, was built between 1764 and 1784 by Gustav Emmanuel von Weissmann. In the 18th century it was assigned a place for unloading surplus ballast (which was mostly boulders) for sailing ships that came to Riga, which is why it was called the Ballast Dam as outlined in the 1876 city plan.

After flood damage, the dam was restored in 1869 and 1870, and the present stack of boulders is from 1885. Until the reconstruction of Ķīpsalas Street in the 1970s, the Balasta Dambis was the main Ķīpsala traffic street with a public bus line.

Street Characteristics
The modern street Balasta Dambis consists of two unrelated sections that coincide with the historic dam. The street starts at the intersection with Raņķa Dambis in Riga's Pardaugava part, crosses the Zund (Azeni) wooden bridge and continues through Kipsala. Initially it runs parallel to the shore of the Gulf of Agenskalns, then turns parallel to the bank of the Daugava until it ends at the intersection with Krišjāņa Valdemāra Street at Vanšu Bridge. On the other side of the Kr. Valdemāra Street Balasta dambis continues along the bank of the Daugava till Gipsha Street.

The total length of the street is 1730 meters. The Balasta Dambis is covered with asphalt and pavement. Most of the buildings on the Balasta Dambis are dominated by mansions, but there are also several public buildings, including multi-storey houses at the beginning of the street with more than 20 storeys "Preses nams" and “Saules akmens” ("Solar Stone"). In the longest section of the street there is only addressing of even numbers, because the side of odd numbers is Daugava. There are several marinas for boats and yachts, as well as a panorama of the Old Town and the passenger port on the opposite bank of the river.
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https://lv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balasta_dambis