Batumi, Iakob Gogebashvili Street N12-14-16 / King Pharnavaz Street N1-3 / Sayatnova Street N2 / Otar Chiladze Street N3
Brief Description of the Monument:
This building was constructed at the end of the 19th century at the request of Chilingarian, who also owned the first-class hotel (Oriental) located on the same street. The hotel featured a restaurant, clean and bright rooms, seawater baths and showers, electric lighting, newspapers and magazines, interpreters, and telephone service.
The four-story building occupies an entire city block. Thanks to its advantageous location, the structure has served various functions over time. It has housed a department store, the port administration, the “Tea House,” a resort office, a post office, and more.
The building’s main façade faces I. Gogebashvili Street, oriented toward the sea. It connects to Sayatnova Street via a narrow façade and extends along King Pharnavaz Street up to the intersection with Eliava Street.
The first two floors are made of stone, segmented by rectangular openings on the ground floor and arched openings on the second floor. The spaces between the openings are filled with rusticated pilasters, and the arches are topped with decorative keystones. These two Classical-style floors are followed by the third and fourth floors, which feature rectangular openings arranged in a regular rhythm. A strong horizontal stringcourse separates the floors, and the entire building is crowned with a prominent cornice.
On the Gogebashvili Street side, the main entrance is positioned on the axis of symmetry. Above it is a wrought-iron balcony flanked by carved wooden supports.
The so-called “Tea House” is one of Batumi’s earliest and most artistically significant buildings. It serves as a landmark not only for the neighborhood but for the city as a whole.