The apartment building at Hryhoriia Skovorody Street, 19 was designed by architect Oleksander Ginzburg and built for merchant Pyotr Selivanov in 1907. It is one of the most beautiful Art Nouveau buildings in Kharkiv and is also known as the “Gingerbread House.”

During the renovation of the facade in the late 1980s, the pre-WWI signs above the windows were stripped away; it was decided to preserve them, so they were covered with glass.

In one photo, you can see a sign that says “Dairy shop”; on the other side of the building, there’s a sign that says “Bierhalle,” meaning “Beer Hall.”

In 2018, the building’s roof was replaced as part of a renovation that converted the attic into a habitable floor. V. Novgorodov’s renovation plan called for restoring the roof’s original shape while increasing the building’s height by 0.5 meters. Nevertheless, the prosecutor’s office opened a criminal case against the resident who initiated the renovation to expand his living space under the article on the intentional destruction, demolition, or damage of cultural heritage sites or parts thereof (Article 298 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine), but the court acquitted him.

The condition of this magical entrance hall with its marble staircase has deteriorated significantly in recent years.

Also in 2020, the staircase glazing was replaced with a more modern double-pane unit featuring a simplified frame.

The building was damaged by a Russian missile strike on October 6, 2023—the blast wave shattered the building’s windows and storefronts.