The house located at Sumska St, 44, across from the Shevchenko monument, is one of the most beautiful and memorable buildings in the middle section of the street.

This architectural landmark was built in 1912 in an eclectic style, based on a design by architect Jūlijs Caune. The building features elements of both Art Nouveau and Classicism, although it leans more toward the latter.

The building is adorned with four female sculptures in the classical style. Local historians have long debated what exactly they signified for both the architect and the client, Pyotr Aladyin.

The ground-floor space was originally intended for a store, and the roof featured a terrace for a solarium and a summer café, which was covered by a soft awning. The entrance to the terrace was designed as a belvedere-style structure. The apartments on the upper floors were intended for rental, and this housing was expensive.

According to research by A. Paramonov, Pyotr Aladyin was a military officer who acquired the property through his marriage to Lydia Geevskaya, a noblewoman and the daughter of a State Councilor. The family decided to invest in the construction of an apartment building, but by 1915, the Aladyins were forced to sell the building to Taitslin.

From 1920 to 1925, the building housed the Central Committee of the Communist Party (Bolsheviks) of Ukraine and later the People’s Commissariat for Internal Trade. The first floor of the building is remembered by Kharkiv residents for its deli; in the 1980s, the building also housed the Cuban Consulate.