History

The grain elevator at the Indian Quay was built in 1936 and commissioned in October 1937. It was designed by Michał Paszkowski and Bolesław Szmidt. The building was owned by Spółka Eksploatacji Elewatorów Zbożowych w Polsce (Grain Elevator Operation Company in Poland) based in Gdynia. It was designed as a loading grain elevator that could serve as a warehouse during crop failures. It was fitted with machines for cleaning, sorting, ventilation, and pest control. It was designed in such a way as to enable tripling the capacity through extension without having to change the equipment. During the occupation, the elevator served as a warehouse for supplies for the German army. At the end of the ware, the basement was adapted to serve as a military hospital. After the war, the building was reconstructed. Initially, it was operated by “Społem”, then by Polskie Zakłady Zbożowe (Polish Grain Plants). In 1992, it was taken over by Bałtycki Terminal Zbożowy (Baltic Grain Terminal). In 1990, it was entered into the register of monuments.

Description

The industrial facility is located in the Port of Gdynia, the former Sea Trade Port, on the eastern edge of the Indian Quay, on a separate plot. The elevator was built on a rectangular floor plan. Its body consists of three sections and is compact. The middle part is a cuboidal eleven-storey tower (41 metres high), which incorporates a warehouse for cleaning and sorting grain and a staircase. The nine-storey side wings are intended to serve as storage facility with 45,000 cubic metres and a capacity of 10 thousand tonnes. The facility measured 66 metres by 21 metres. The façade of the ground floor was covered with dark red clinker tiles; the remaining parts of the walls with concrete tiles. The longitudinal northern and southern façades were designed in a similar manner. The ground floor has the form of a plinth and is separated from the upper storeys by a roof over the ramps. The eastern part of the elevator features evenly distributed window openings across the façade — 7 rows (storeys) with 8 openings in a row. The silo part is partitioned by five vertical pilasters. The part has only three window openings which were positioned vertically in the outermost row at the junction with the central tower part of the elevator, which is glazed over the entire height of the façade in a way to provide contrast. Six rows of small windows arranged in a strip-like pattern are separated from each other by pilasters serving as jambs. Both lower parts of the building are crowned with a storey set further back from the face. The storey has eight round windows in the eastern part and three rectangular windows in the western part (silo). The interior has retained both functional and formal partitions imposed by the forms of solids.

Limited access to the monument. The building is located in the port area. Viewing of the elevator is only possible with a guide at a specific time and date.

compiled by Dorota Hryszkiewicz-Kahlau, Regional Branch of the National Heritage Board of Poland in Gdańsk, 23-10-2014.

Bibliography

• Sołtysik M.J., Gdynia miasto dwudziestolecia międzywojennego, urbanistyka i architektura, Warszawa 1993;
• Sołtysik M.J., Modernistyczna Gdynia - dziedzictwo lat międzywojennych, [w:] Renowacje i zabytki 2010, nr 4 (36), s.60-73;
• http://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elewator_zbożowy_w_Gdyni
• http://www.naszagdynia.com/port/elewator-zbozowy
• Karta ewidencyjna Elewator Zbożowy Gdynia, autor: Ewa Stieler, 1988 r.; archiwum NID