The Corner House, Riga

The Corner House, Riga (Latvia)

The Corner House is a historic building in the city center of Riga Latvia. It was known as the headquarters of the Soviet KGB in Latvia from 1940 to 1941 and from 1944 to 1991. The official address is 61 Brvbas iela. Designed by architect Aleksandrs Vanags the construction of the house was started in 1910 and was built in 1912 as apartments and shops. It housed the music school of the Imperial Russian Society of Music a library and a bookstore sweets and fruit dairy products flower shops and a pharmacy of the Ministry of National Welfare. During the Latvian War of Independence the Latvian Revolutionary War Committee used the building briefly in 1919. In 1920 the new government of independent Latvia took over the building for government use including the Ministry of the Interior and other offices.