'Stalin's gift' finds new role in Warsaw
WARSAW -- A local joke runs that the luckiest man in Warsaw is the caretaker who lives on the top floor of its towering Palace of Culture -- because he is the only one who can look out of his window and not see it.
Loathed by many older Poles as a symbol of oppression, the 754-foot (230-meter) neo-Gothic skyscraper was a "gift" from Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin in the 1950s, but as a post-Communist generation matures it is finding a new role.
The grey-brown stone edifice between the central station and the main shopping area has survived calls for its demolition, and now what was originally a trophy monument to communist solidarity houses one of the city's trendiest music venues.
The building was last week awarded the status of historic monument and now symbolizes how Poles, who ditched communism in 1989, straddle two starkly opposed systems as the capital booms.
"The palace is now the heart of our city and is used by huge numbers every year," said Krzysztof Markowski, the building's technical director and vice-president of its management board. "It may be a reminder of a long-gone epoch, but it is now having a second life, serving us all."
Still Poland's tallest building, the Palace dominates the capital's skyline and is visible for up to 20 miles: its peculiar, ornate design by Russian architect Lev Rudnev is part Empire State Building, part Socialist Realism...
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Loathed by many older Poles as a symbol of oppression, the 754-foot (230-meter) neo-Gothic skyscraper was a "gift" from Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin in the 1950s, but as a post-Communist generation matures it is finding a new role.
The grey-brown stone edifice between the central station and the main shopping area has survived calls for its demolition, and now what was originally a trophy monument to communist solidarity houses one of the city's trendiest music venues.
The building was last week awarded the status of historic monument and now symbolizes how Poles, who ditched communism in 1989, straddle two starkly opposed systems as the capital booms.
"The palace is now the heart of our city and is used by huge numbers every year," said Krzysztof Markowski, the building's technical director and vice-president of its management board. "It may be a reminder of a long-gone epoch, but it is now having a second life, serving us all."
Still Poland's tallest building, the Palace dominates the capital's skyline and is visible for up to 20 miles: its peculiar, ornate design by Russian architect Lev Rudnev is part Empire State Building, part Socialist Realism...