House with Chimaeras

An art Nouveau building located in the historic Lypkyneighborhood of Kiev, the capital of Ukraine. Situated across the street from the President of Ukraine's office at No. 10, Bankova Street, the building has been used as a presidential residence for official and diplomatic ceremonies since 2005. The street in front of the building is closed off to all automobile traffic and is now a patrolled pedestrian zone due to its proximity to the Presidential Administration building. The Polish architect Władysław Horodecki originally constructed the House with Chimaeras for use as his upmarket apartment building from 1901 to 1902. However, as the years went by, Horodecki eventually had to sell the building due to financial troubles, after which it changed ownership numerous times before finally being occupied by an official Communist Party polyclinic until the early 2000s. The name does not refer to the chimaera of mythology, but to an architectural style known as chimaera decoration in which animal figures are applied as decorative elements to a building.