Toegangsportaal van een woning aan Windmühlgasse 24 te Wenen before 1894

This anonymous photograph captures the entrance to a building on Windmühlgasse 24 in Vienna. The building has an imposing facade, decorated with classical motifs and sculptural elements. Consider the time and place. In late 19th-century Vienna, architecture served not only as shelter but also as a statement of social identity. The building's design evokes a sense of grandeur, a visual language understood by the elite of the time. The contrast between the architecture and the ordinary people standing nearby invites reflection on how urban spaces shape social interactions and hierarchies. Who had access to this building? Whose stories are inscribed in its stones, and whose are left untold? It makes you wonder about the lives lived behind these walls, and the city that framed them.