Dům U Nováků (Novak House)
Vodičkova, Nové Město
Prague, September 2024
“The U Nováků House is an Art Nouveau commercial and multi-purpose building at Vodičkova 699/34, 110 00 in New Town, Prague 1, near Wenceslas Square. It was named after Josef Novák, a tailor and textile entrepreneur who operated the department store and also owned a tailor's salon there. The building has been protected as a cultural monument since 1958. The plot once housed the house and shop of the butcher Vodička, after whom the street is named. Here in 1878, the brothers Antonín and Josef Nováková, originally from Česká Třebová, purchased a house and a yarn and toy shop, a former brewery, U Štajgrů, for a relatively small sum. The brothers acquired the shop from a seriously ill owner who died three days after the transaction. The brothers focused the shop solely on selling textiles. After Antonín Novák's death, Josef took over the management of the business, successfully developing it and expanding the range to include tailoring and fashion. The house was built between 1901 and 1904 according to the design of the famous architect Osvald Polívka. It is a multifunctional commercial palace with an arcade, shop and facilities, offices, sports halls, a gaming room and the U Nováků theatre for 700 spectators and a cabaret hall. The client and owner of the building, Josef Novák, died two years after its completion in 1906 , at the age of 51. However, the name J. Novák remained on the house for a long time and was returned to it after the Velvet Revolution of 1989.” (Dům U Nováků, Wikipedia)
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