The house for Ivan Boiko was built between 1912 and 1914 by architects S. Tymoshenko, P. Shirshov, and P. Sokolov (according to other sources, in 1911).

Serhii Timoshenko is considered one of the pioneers of Ukrainian Art Nouveau; he lived in this building from 1912 to 1919.

It was a fine example of Ukrainian Art Nouveau, which was barbarically expanded upon in 1930, a process that resulted in the destruction of the tower.

During the housing boom in Kharkiv in the 1920s and 1930s, a large number of buildings were expanded with similar additions.

Nikolay Samokish’s murals were whitewashed, while Serhii Vasilkovsky’s paintings (a version of his “Cossack Meadow” and a portrait of T. Shevchenko) were completely destroyed.

Incidentally, the works by Samokish and Vasilkovsky in the interior of the Poltava Provincial Zemstvo building are actually reconstructions, as the originals were lost during the WWII.

So the entrance to the building at Myronosytska Street, 44 is the only surviving example of Samokish’s monumental work.

It is interesting to note that when adding the upper section, the architects sought to partially preserve the tower’s shape by extending it up to the roof, and they also incorporated ornamentation along the upper cornice.

A skylight was preserved in the entrance hall itself.

The murals by artist Nikolai Samokish in the building’s entrance hall are still awaiting restoration…

Ivan Boiko was the manager of sugar manufacturer Pavlo Kharytonenko; he also purchased works of art for the millionaire’s collection, which is why he knew many artists personally.

The building was damaged by Russian missile strikes in the spring of 2022 and lost some of its windows.