At the top of Festningsgata a large yellow, splendid building has pride of place – with a view all over town. By the broken corner of the house is the gateway to Vardøhus fortress. The building, which goes by the local name of “The Consulate”, was erected in 1853 and was originally only one storey high. The first owner, Søren Engelhardt Schultze, was the garrison doctor at Vardøhus fortress. Ingebrigt Nygaard took over the house in 1907 and built on an additional storey.

Festningsgata 15 is a large timber house, built of cog-jointed planking. The building is a fine example of architecture from the early twentieth century – a timber house in the Jugendstil. The north-west corner is broken. The imposing roof is hipped and clad with diagonal slates, and is carried by a rafter construction. Two stuccoed brick chimneys are positioned symmetrically. On the surfaces of the roof there are a total of four small dormers with bow windows and glazing bars in fanshape. The exterior of the building is clad in horizontal planed panelling with a semicircular edge. Today, the house is painted a creamy yellow colour. On the south-east side there is a concrete fire gable.