Art Nouveau plays an important role in the historic architecture of Riga; it is mostly concentrated in a neighborhood referred to as the ‘Quiet Centre’, which is a 10-minute walk from the Old Town. It is a gorgeous feature among the historic facades of the city.
One of the most impressive examples of early Art Nouveau can be seen at 10b Elizabetes Street - a building designed by Mikhail Eisenstein, the father of cinema genius Sergei Eisenstein. It was built in 1903. The building has an extraordinarily colourful facade. Note the composition of masks, peacocks, sculptural elements and geometrical figures, as well as the bright blue tile covering on the upper levels of the building. The facade was designed by copying and complementing drawings by two Leipzig architects, Georg Wünschmann and Hans Kozel which were first published in a collection of facade drawings in Saint Petersburg. The buildings and their splendid staircase were renovated in 2000.
Photos and description taken from www.jugendstils.riga.lv