Building with Griffins

20, Admiral Fokin Street

Former Japanese Consulate

The most notable monument of classical style in Vladivostok is the building on the corner of Admiral Fokin Street and Okeansky Prospekt (Ocean Avenue), which was constructed in 1913 by an architect named Shafra to serve as the Japanese Consulate. Though including basic elements of art nouveau, the main façade on Okeansky Prospekt has a characteristic classical element: it is accented with a portico of six Doric columns. Other details were in the sculpture: the Goddess of Victory on the pediment, and the two griffins holding the chains that supported the small roof over the entrance. (Griffins were mythological figures in Greek and Roman art, half lions and half eagles, believed to keep watch over the gold of Scythia.) Unfortunately, only the griffins now remain. The whole building, which houses a medical institution today, is in great decay.

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