Alberta Iela (Albert Street) 2, Riga

The Apartment House of Captain Vladimir Bogoslavsky at Alberta Iela 2 is the last representative example of Eclectic Decorative Art Nouveau in Riga, and was created by Mikhail Eisenstein in 1906. The property's layout is identical to that of other houses found in this street.

It is also the only building in which Eisenstein had used dark red and blue glazed tiles to decorate the façade. The latter abounds in geometric ornaments, none of which stands out, however, and is accentuated by the central avant-corps, which is surmounted with an attic – needed only for the placement of decorative elements: window apertures, mascarons and others.

The sky and the clouds seen through the attic apertures create a marvelous effect and add a totally new dimension to the building. Eisenstein planned to include two groups of sculptures in the attic, but only succeeded in setting up one – it has not survived.

The frontage carries two bay windows. The entrance gate is dominated by mascarons in the form of female heads. The half-naked female figures with torches in their hands and the sphinxes guarding the entrance illustrate the vividness of Eisenstein's imagination to which Riga owes much of its present appeal.