Salme Cultural Centre

Between Salme, Graniidi, Kalevi, and Vabriku streets, behind Kalamaja Primary School, once stood Salme Park on the former Lausmann Meadow, established in the 1930s. In the mid-1950s, it was decided to sacrifice the park for a new building for the Jaan Tomp Culture Palace, founded in 1940. The Culture Palace had previously been housed in the House of the Blackheads in the Old Town. The building, which underwent several redesigns, was finally completed based on a design by Paul Härmson and Kalju Luts, which was itself derived from the Riga Railway Workers’ Club project. In the spirit of architectural changes following Stalin’s death, the neoclassical form of the building was stripped of decoration – a simplification seen in many buildings of that era. In 1991, the building was renamed Salme Cultural Center, and today, over 15 hobby groups operate in this Tallinn city-owned facility. The heart of the building is a 624-seat theater hall. It remains one of the key concert, entertainment, and recreational venues in North Tallinn.