Dom Sierot - From Grodzisk Mazowiecki to 2 Franciszkańska Street in Warszawa - "Help for Orphans" Society (Towarzystwo „Pomoc dla Sierot”).

The property at 2 Franciszkańska Street was leased (rented) by the "Help for Orphans" Society. Here is the 2-4 Franciszkańska building. Number 2, where the orphanage was placed, is the part of the building in the shadow and close to the Church of St. Francis.

The property at 2 Franciszkańska Street was leased (rented) by the "Help for Orphans" Society. Here is the 2-4 Franciszkańska building. Number 2, where the orphanage was placed, is the part of the building in the shadow and close to the Church of St. Francis. Both photos were taken during WWII.

The property at 2 Franciszkańska Street was leased (rented) by the "Help for Orphans" Society (Towarzystwo „Pomoc dla Sierot”). The society moved into the Franciszkańska premises in 1907-1908 to establish a temporary, centralized urban foothold for their charity work after operating further out in Grodzisk Mazowiecki, a town located about 30 kilometers southwest of Warsaw.

Here, at 2 Franciszkańska Street, Janusz Korczak met Stefania Wilczyńska, who had recently returned to Warsaw after unfinished studies at Liege University in Belgium. She began volunteering at the gritty Franciszkańska shelter.

 
"Help for Orphans" Society was already running the fundraising and plans for its own Orphanage building, as they recognized that renting spaces like the one at 2 Franciszkańska Street were inadequate and cramped. Therefore, the Society formally committed to constructing a brand-new, purpose-built facility. For four intensive years (1906-1910), the Society accumulated public contributions, and this quickly accumulated capital allowed them to purchase the vacant plot of land at 92 Krochmalna Street on May 12, 1910, for the substantial sum of 24,000 rubles.

The construction started in June 1911, and the fundraising continued actively alongside physical construction to cover the costs of building materials and labor. The 92 Krochmalna Street facility officially opened its doors on October 7, 1912.