Old-fashioned elevators where you have to open the doors manually have become a rarity in Kharkiv, but they can still be found in some buildings.

For example, the “house with a tower,” located at Samokysha Lane, 3 / Kul’tury Street, 13.

It was built around the 1930s for the employees of Mestprom, based on a design by architects P.Z. Krupko and G.D. Ikonnikov.

According to a resident of the building, the elevators did not become operational until 1968, after WWII, and the tower was purely decorative (an extension of the attic), although it is also possible that it was originally intended as part of the local air defense system (MPVO, serving as an observation post for aircraft in the event of war).

Currently, the second floor of one of the apartments in the building has been made in this tower.

In 2020, to mark the 160th anniversary of the battle painter Mykola Samokish, the house was decorated with murals based on his works, created by students of the Repin School.

Overall, the building is a fine example of Kharkiv’s residential Constructivist architecture.

The house was damaged as a result of a Russian airstrike on May 5, 2024.