Stalowa Street in Warsaw

Stalowa Street, located in the Praga-Północ district of Warsaw, was laid out between 1865 and 1867 and was initially named Nowopraska, later Fabryczna, before adopting its current name in 1891 in honor of the Warsaw Steelworks. The street was originally lined with wooden houses, which were later replaced by brick tenements. At the beginning of the 20th century, cobblestone paving and sidewalks were installed, and some of the tenements from that period have been preserved. In 1901, the narrow-gauge railway station Warszawa Stalowa was established on the street, connecting Praga with other areas. Today, the Kaufland supermarket stands on the site of this former station. After World War I, the demographic composition of the street changed, and numerous shops, cafes, and artisan workshops emerged along it. In 1939, the steelworks were destroyed, and after World War II, the street's buildings fell into disrepair. The street also has a rich cultural history, as it was featured as Chłodna Street in Roman Polański's film *The Pianist*. In 2017, the Praga Gallery of Fame was unveiled on Stalowa Street, honoring distinguished local figures. Architecturally, the street is lined with black locust trees, and fragments of a mikveh (ritual bath) have been preserved in the gateway of tenement number 40/42. The Warsaw Steelworks was one of the largest industrial plants in Warsaw, though its operations were scaled back in later years. After World War I, much of it was converted into artillery workshops, which came under the management of the Polish Army after the country regained independence. Today, the site of the former steelworks is occupied by wholesale warehouses, with only remnants of its past still visible.