The building on this site, known until recently as "Korttila’s Corner" after an old shoe shop, was called the “Angle House” (Vinkkelitalo) in the 19th century. The house extended continuously from Rauhankatu, across the Raatihuone Square, all the way to Raatihuoneenkatu, which leads to the Bastion.

The Angle House was built by merchant Konstantin Druschinin in 1843 on what was considered the most strategically valuable commercial location in Hamina. Raatihuoneenkatu, then called Narinkkakatu, featured a bazaar-like setting with covered market stalls—a kind of early market hall. Later, the street was renamed Kauppiaankatu (Merchant Street).

The original Angle House was destroyed in a fire—reportedly arson—on the night before Good Friday in 1862.

The current building, which still wraps around the street corner, was built by merchant Andrei Galitzin eight years later, in 1870. The main commercial spaces were located along Raatihuone Square and were complemented by the buildings in the courtyard.

The two vaulted cellars of the house date back to the 1700s and belonged to earlier buildings on the plot. Behind the iron door at the corner of Raatihuone Square, stairs lead down to an old wine cellar, which nowadays is mostly used as an exhibition space.

Heading toward the Bastion, the next door concealed a shoemaker’s workshop, where Teodor Korttila made and repaired shoes at the beginning of his career.

“Legend has it that in the 1910s, Cossacks liked to have their boots repaired at Teodor’s ground-level shop, because they could quietly sneak down to the wine cellar in their socks while waiting for their footwear to be ready.”

The courtyard of the house is typical of a 1840s merchant estate. A warehouse and stable building, a harness room, carriage sheds, and an outbuilding bordering Raatihuoneenkatu form a closed courtyard. It served both as a receiving and dispatch area for goods and as a bustling everyday home yard.