It was during renovations in 2008-2009 that we went through past, looking for Baltic Suites building’s origin. We knew that it was constructed in 1910, but we couldn’t imagine many things…

At first we noticed that the street was called Kurmanovskaya iela at that time and it was going to change again before taking the current name. Indeed, reading a fire department document, dated December 8, 1936, we found that it was already changed in Yumaras iela.

We read that it had taken four years to finish the building and deliver it to the owner: Mr Aron Pesis, a Jew man coming from Ukraine.
Many families have lived in the building over time, as well as some stores and laboratories have been housed there. Among them, a tinman’s shop that opened in 1936 and a controversial pharmaceutical laboratory which obtained permission to convert alcohol and petrol for producing medicines on November 23, 1936 but, after just two weeks, was closed by fire department because of its primitive and dangerous equipment.

But the main surprise was when we found the oldest document related to the building. It was while rummaging through old printed and handwritten papers that we found a sheet dated March 16, 1910.

It was about a permit to build a five-storied stone house in Kurmanovskaya iela, 27 and the supervisor would be Mr Paul Mandelstam.

What an exciting discovery... The building that houses the Baltic Suites was designed by one of the most important Art Nouveau architects in Riga! Paul Mandelstam, the official architect of the Jewish community of the city.