The buildings are situated in Harstad's town centre. Torget 3 is a three-storied brick building with a mansard roof that has a steep lower side. It forms the corner between the town square and the street Storgaten. Storgaten 1 which is the nearest neighbouring building is a wooden two-and-a-half-storied building with a dormer and saddle roof. Storgaten 1 was constructed around the year 1900, while Torget 3 was completed in 1916. Both buildings were erected as business premises, meaning that they both had designated areas for shops and offices. In addition there were flats in the upper stories. They have quite dissimilar designs, and are representatives of the Swiss and Jugendstil respectively.

Storgaten 1 was built for the tailor A. Christoffersen and contained flats in addition to his tailor shop. Towards the end of the 1990s the building was restored. Today its colour scheme is in accordance with colours used on Swiss style houses. Torget 3 was designed by the architect Johann Osness (1872-1961) and erected for the merchant Elias Welzien-Holst. For the most part the façade has been preserved, but the windows have been changed and simplified.

Approximately 1900-1916

Business premises

shop

residence

Woodwork

brickwork

Storgaten 1 Harstad South Rotary Clubs building preservation prize for 1998

business premises

shop

woodwork

brickwork

mansard roof

dormer

gable roof

residence

Bruun, Ola og Jim Myrstad, "Sveitser og jugend side om side- Stilige naboer - Bylandskap Harstad 100 år 2004" in Harstad Tidende 01.02.02, pp. 34-35

Bruun, Ola og Jim Myrstad, "Hjørnestein i sentrum - Bylandskap Harstad 100 år 2004" in Harstad Tidende 14.03.03, pp. 30-31