Street Formation
Antonovycha Street, formerly known as Sadivnytska Street, began to take shape at the end of the 18th century. Initially, it extended to what is now Melnyka Street, and in the early 20th century, it was extended to Kulparkivska Street, which encouraged active development of the area with manor-style houses.
Builders and Styles
The villa was built in 1910 based on a design by Zygmunt Pszorn. It embodies the idea of rational architecture, which later gained traction during the interwar period. Its functional comfort is enhanced by the surrounding landscape, in line with the garden city concept.
Who Was the Owner?
In 1901, Maria Drozdovych, the owner of several plots along Sadivnytska Street, constructed a small one-story house with a gable roof. The project was designed by architect Michał Kustanowicz. The house was likely intended for rent: two rooms in the plan were labeled “stations” (rental rooms).
In 1909, this property was purchased by the affluent Kuchar family — Ludwik and Ludwika. The Kuchars had six sons, all of whom, like their father, were multi-talented athletes associated with the LKS Pogoń sports club in Lviv, including its football section. All the sons were also military officers. Ludwik Kuchar was an entrepreneur, sports activist, and patron. He sponsored the Lviv football club Pogoń. His main professional field was chemistry — he worked as the administrative director of the “Petro Mikolash and Company” spirits factory. Additionally, he founded and owned a chain of cinemas in Lviv (“Passage”) and Kraków (“Wanda”).
What Does the House Look Like?
The house, built in the rational Secession style, is a detached two-story brick villa with a total area of 562.6 sq. meters. It has a plastered façade, a basement, a high metal-covered roof, and a roof lantern over the staircase. Decorative wrought iron elements enhance the design: stair railings, jardinières, window grilles on the first floor, and balcony railings. The upper parts of the verandas feature stained-glass panels made of textured opaque glass (now painted over).
Construction lasted throughout 1910. The completed villa was a spacious house with two richly decorated wrought iron verandas. The estate was adapted for an athletic lifestyle. Ludwik Kuchar was personally interested in fencing, gymnastics, and cycling — the house included a room designated for fencing. The garden had gym equipment for the children. According to the original design, both the main and service entrances to the house were accessed via open verandas. However, for convenience, both verandas were later glazed, with the upper parts decorated using textured opaque glass. It’s unclear whether the glazing was done immediately or later. The Kuchar family lived in the villa until the Second World War.
Interesting Facts
After being forcibly evicted, most of the Kuchars ended up in Warsaw. In 1944, Soviet authorities repurposed the villa to house Tuberculosis Nursery No. 11, which operated there until 1955. On June 1, 1955, it was converted into a children’s tuberculosis sanatorium. The first head doctor, L.L. Moiseenko, had previously run the nursery. She reorganized the facility and set up a system for treating and rehabilitating children with tuberculosis. The building was equipped with a sanitary checkpoint, an expanded treatment room, a kitchen unit, and more. These adaptations did not affect the original layout of the villa, though the tiled stoves were moved, and a metal staircase was added to the balcony to improve fire safety.
In 1999, the sanatorium building was transferred to municipal ownership. The children’s tuberculosis sanatorium continued operating there until 2020.
Sources
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State Archives of the Lviv Region (DALO) 2/2/4879
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Map of Lviv, 1936
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Borys Melnyk, Guide to Renaming of Streets and Squares in Lviv, (Lviv, 2001)