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Batumi, 12 Konstantine Gamsakhurdia Street / 25 Memed Abashidze Street
Brief Description of the Building:
Constructed in 1900 specifically to serve as a bank, this building originally housed the Batumi branch of the Tbilisi Commercial Bank. The current appearance of the structure is the result of later reconstruction.
This three-story corner building features a rusticated stone-clad ground floor on both façades, segmented by large rectangular glazed openings set between pilaster-like projections. On the Memed Abashidze Street side, the main entrance is located in the central section of the primary façade, set within a flat-arched opening and topped with a curvilinear, richly profiled stone pediment. The pediment is supported by round, massive columns resting on cubic bases. The date 1900 is inscribed in the central medallion. The modernist-style wooden entrance door is adorned with an ornate metal grille and wrought decorative elements.
The façade is divided into three sections. The wide and slightly taller central risalit is framed on either side by giant rusticated pilasters. Within this central section, arched windows dominate—especially on the second floor, where they are more elaborately decorated. The spaces between the windows are filled with paired Corinthian pilasters. The large arched windows are framed with arched moldings resting on pilasters, with decorative keystones at the apex adorned with garlands and volutes.
This part of the façade is crowned with a dentilated, profiled cornice and a linear parapet broken by evenly spaced rectangular blocks containing circular openings. The flanking sections of the façade, clad in smooth, dressed stone, are segmented by rectangular windows. On the third floor, all windows are paired across the full façade.
The Gamsakhurdia Street façade concludes with a large rectangular archway leading into the courtyard, fitted with a modernist-style ornamental wrought iron gate. At the center of this façade is a suspended iron balcony with a modernist balustrade, supported by massive stone brackets. The second-floor windows on this side are large and rectangular, topped with horizontal pediments. The façade, except for the central section facing Memed Abashidze Street, is topped with a broken parapet, between whose blocks run simple iron railings.
Elements of Baroque and Art Nouveau styles have been employed in a measured and harmonious way. Thanks to its scale, strategic corner location, quality materials, and high level of craftsmanship, this building is considered one of Batumi’s most significant architectural landmarks.
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