The Phoenix Hotel was a hotel located in

Turku Turku ( ; ; sv, Åbo, ) is a city and former capital on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River, in the region of Finland Proper (''Varsinais-Suomi'') and the former Turku and Pori Province (''Turun ja Porin lääni''; ...

, Finland, on the edge of the

Market Square The market square (or sometimes, the market place) is a Town square, square meant for trading, in which a market is held. It is an important feature of many towns and cities around the world.Yliopistonkatu), which operated from 1878 to 1922. The building was known as the Phoenix House even when it was the main building of the private

University of Turku sv, Åbo universitet , latin_name = Universitas Aboensis , image_name = University of Turku.svg , motto = ''Vapaan kansan lahja vapaalle tieteelle'' , established = 1920 , type ...

, founded in 1920. The Phoenix House was demolished in 1959.

Hotel

The colossal Phoenix Hotel building, designed by architects Axel and

Hjalmar Kumlien Knut Hjalmar Kumlien (17 March 1837 – 12 October 1897) was a Swedish architect. Biography Kumlien was born in the parish of Härlunda in Västergötland, Sweden. He was the son of Ludvig Kumlien and Petronella Johanna Rhodin. Kumlien graduated ...

, was completed in 1878, the same year the hotel began operations. The cost of construction was about 50 percent over the initial estimate. The

upper class Upper class in modern societies is the social class composed of people who hold the highest social status, usually are the wealthiest members of class society, and wield the greatest political power. According to this view, the upper class is gen ...

of Turku, who founded the hotel, believed that the railway just built in Turku would increase transit traffic between Russia and Western Europe and that the hotel restaurant,

ballroom A ballroom or ballhall is a large room inside a building, the primary purpose of which is holding large formal parties called balls. Traditionally, most balls were held in private residences; many mansions and palaces, especially historic man ...

and one hundred guest rooms would be used. However, this did not happen and the hotel was in financial difficulties for the first four years. The change of ownership made the hotel barely profitable. Perhaps the most notable guest staying at the hotel was former U.S. President

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...

, who visited the hotel soon after its completion. The famous scammer Ruben Oskar Auervaara served as the hotel's

bellhop A bellhop (North America), or hotel porter (carrier), porter (international), is a hotel employee who helps patrons with their luggage while check-in, checking in or out. Bellhops often wear a uniform (see bell-boy hat), like certain other Page (a ...

in his youth. Phoenix Hotel ceased operations in 1922.

As a university

The private Finnish

was founded in 1920 after an extensive fund-raising campaign. The Turku Finnish University Society acquired the building in 1920 as the main building of the university. The arrangement was intended to be temporary but ultimately lasted 36 years. One notable resident of the Phoenix house during this period was the renowned lichenologist

Edvard August Vainio Edvard August Vainio (born Edvard Lang; 5 August 185314 May 1929) was a Finnish lichenology, lichenologist. His early works on the lichens of Lapland (Finland), Lapland, his three-volume monograph on the lichen genus ''Cladonia'', and, in parti ...

, who moved to Turku in 1922 after accepting a position at the university. With the help of the university, the street Kirkkokatu ("church street") was renamed as Yliopistonkatu. ("university street"). The Phoenix House became cramped, but it was not until a substantial donation in the late 1940s by gold prospector that new premises could be acquired for the university. The buildings designed by architect

Aarne Ervi Aarne Adrian Ervi (originally Aarne Adrian Elers) (19 May 1910 – 26 September 1977) was one of the most important architects of Finland's post-World War II reconstruction period. Ervi was born in Forssa, and graduated as an architect from the ...

were completed on Vesilinnanmäki ( Ryssänmäki) in the 1950s, when the Phoenix House was left empty. Attempts were made to find a new owner for the house, and it was also offered to the city of Turku. However, the city council blocked the deal, preferring a solution that benefitted the construction industry.

Demolition and lightning house

The building, which was considered to be in poor condition, was eventually taken over by the insurance company Salama and demolished by blasting in 1959. A residential and commercial building, Asunto Oy Salamankulma, was built on the site and was completed in 1961. Salamankulma was designed by architects Matti Hakala and Aarne Nuortila and assisted by Sakari Kauria, an architecture student. The building has two parts: a low three-story business wing and a ten-story residential building behind it. Insurance companies Pohjola and Suomi-Salama have been operating in the low-rise since 1977.

Phoenix library

The main library of the University of Turku on Yliopistonmäki was renamed the Phoenix Library in 2015 in connection with the renovation. The chairs in the library reading room are from the original Phoenix building.

References

{{Reflist, colwidth=30em, refs= {{cite news , last1=Heino , first1=Jari , title=Pohjolan kolossi, Phoenixin haamu , trans-title=The Colossus of the North, The Ghost of Phoenix , newspaper=

Turun Sanomat ''Turun Sanomat'' is the leading regional newspaper of the region of Southwest Finland. It is published in the region's capital, Turku and the third most widely read morning newspaper in Finland after '' Helsingin Sanomat'' and ''Aamulehti''. Hi ...

, date=18 January 2004 , publisher=TS-Yhtymä , language=fi , url=http://www.ts.fi/teemat/sunnuntai/1073940452/Pohjolan+kolossi+Phoenixin+haamu, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140728085309/http://www.ts.fi/teemat/sunnuntai/1073940452/Pohjolan+kolossi+Phoenixin+haamu , archive-date=2014-07-28 {{cite web , last1=Hyytiäinen , first1=Erja , title=All Three Floors of the Feeniks Library in the Use of the Students , url=https://www.utu.fi/en/news/news/all-three-floors-of-the-feeniks-library-in-the-use-of-the-students , date=27 February 2015 , publisher=University of Turku {{cite news , last1=Nieme , first=Ari , date=16 January 2016 , title=Hotelli, joka yhä kummittelee , trans-title=A hotel that still haunts , url=https://www.ts.fi/puheenvuorot/842018/Hotelli+joka+yha+kummittelee , newspaper=Turun Sanomat , language=fi , access-date=30 April 2021 Leimu, Pekka: Phoenixin kohtaloita (Puheenvuoro) he Fates of Phoenix''Yliopisto-lehti''. 1997. Helsingin yliopisto. Accessed 25.12.2011. {{cite web , last1=Kaarlehto , first1=Eeva , url=https://www.utu.fi/en/university/history , title=History of the University of Turku , date=28 December 2009 , publisher=University of Turku , access-date=30 April 2021 {{cite news , last1=Junttila , first1=Veli , title=Ortodoksien kirkon korttelin suunnittelu , trans-title=Design of an Orthodox church block (Column) , newspaper=Turun Sanomat , date=29 June 2009 , publisher=TS-yhtymä Feeniks-kirjasto (ent. pääkirjasto) avataan täysin uudistuneena 27.2.2015 klo 9. www.utu.fi. Accessed 27.9.2015. {{cite book , last1=Tarmio , first1=Timo , title=Päin nousevan Suomen rantaa. Tutkijaprofiileja Turun yliopistosta , trans-title=Towards the shores of rising Finland. Researcher profiles from the University of Turku , year=2000 , chapter=Edvard Vainio – Kohtalona Jäkälät , pages=155–177 , publisher=Kirja-Aurora; University of Turku , location=Turku , language=fi , isbn=951-29-1664-9 Uutiset Turusta , Aamuset , Turun yliopiston pääkirjastosta Feeniks-kirjasto aamuset.fi. Accessed 27.9.2015. Hotels in Finland Defunct hotels Hotel buildings completed in 1878 Hotels established in 1878 Hotels disestablished in 1922 Buildings and structures in Turku Buildings and structures demolished in 1959 Demolished buildings and structures in Finland