Charitable social work of St Vincent Paulietis’ fellowship was crowned by their biggest and most famous project - the Old People’s Home on Aukštaučių Street. After its opening in 1938, K. Reisonas’ design for the elderly care home set new standards for this type of institutions in the whole country. Initially Reisonas designed a symmetrical three floor building with a pitched roof. The original project, however, was altered during the process of the construction by adding one more floor, and by assembling a flat roof. The finished structure received much praise from the contemporary press. The occupants of the house enjoyed spacious corridors, south-facing balconies, sitting rooms, and bathroom facilities on each floor. The flat roof was converted into a spacious and green roof terrace. The newly built institution was also fully supplied with radio equipment and speakers for quick and efficient communication. After the occupation of Lithuania by Nazi Germany in 1941, the exceptionally progressive elderly home were transformed into a Tuberculosis hospital.
Kristina Rimkutė