Orioninkatu is, along with Vellamonkatu, another central street in Hermann, with several apartment buildings along it. It is about 300 metres long and is a one-way street for cars. It can only be driven from Saarenkatu to Vellamonkatu, i.e. from north to south.
Many of Hermann's street names were chosen after ships, which in turn were named after stars. This is also the case with Orion Street. Orion was a Greek mythological hunter who was turned into a constellation by the gods.
The street was previously named Bärgsgatan (Mountain Street) on the 1892 map of the Hermann rental area.
The City of Helsinki Building Department approved the name of the street in 1917. Orioninkatu is apparently named after the Finnish Steamship Company S/S Orion. It was a Finnish cargo steamship that also had passenger cabins. The S/S Orion was built in 1884 at the Bremer Schiffsbau Ges. shipyard in Bremen, Germany, and was wrecked in a snowstorm off Helsinki on 28 December 1931.
In 2022, the Orion Street was the site of the Hermann village fete.
Musician Tumppi Varonen, who spent his childhood and youth on Orioninkatu, writes in his book Poika joka taht taht willoo lentää that in the 1960s there were ”snipping contests” on Orioninkatu: ”A dozen guys were up to their asses snipping up or down Orioninkatu, preferably down, to get more power for the car.” Born in 1956, Varonen first lived in a wooden house on Orioninkatu as a small child, and after a couple of years in the same place in the new prefabricated house at Orioninkatu 4.
The first season of the television series Kimmo (2012-2017) is set on Orioninkatu and the street is also featured in the series. The Kimmo TV series can be found on Yle Arena.
Orioninkatu 11 was completed in 1958. The house was designed by Klaus Groth. Orioninkatu 9 and Orioninkatu 11 are attached to each other, but they are two different housing associations. Both houses were completed in 1958. Orioninkatu 9 is located at the corner of Vegankatu. Orioninkatu 9 was designed by Irmeli and Matti Visanti. The house belongs to block 655, which was presented in Helsingin Sanomat on 5 June 1989 by Kaija [...]
The Hermann Village Festival was held on Sunday 7.8.2022. The sunny weather was kind to the festivities. The programme included live music, dancing, flea market and fair food. A small team of volunteers organised the party. The event took place in the parking area of Saarenkatu 6-10, all of Orioninkatu and the Violanpuisto Park for the community jogging. The following bands performed at the party: Naava, Anna Have, SUPER POWER, Pirita, Maggie's band and Orang Pendek. The Avec dance club danced the crowd and Friskis & Svettis [...]
Orioninkatu 5-7 is a four-storey residential building, completed in 1959. The building was designed by Klaus Groth. The building is part of block 654, which was featured in Helsingin Sanomat on 29 May 1989 in a series of articles by Kaija Hackzell and Kirsti Toppar on city blocks. Books were also published on the basis of this series of articles, and Hermann's quarters can be found in Oihonnankatuulta Kumpulantielle (1991). The article Kerrostalojen ja puutarhojen Hermannissa eletään le leppoyasti is available to HS digital subscribers and [...]
Orioninkatu 10-12 is a four-storey residential building, completed in 1957. The building was designed by Elias Paalanen. Originally, all the partners of the building were employed by the City of Helsinki. A wide green belt separates the building from the street. The house is part of block 651, which was featured in Helsingin Sanomat on 8 May 1989 in a series of articles by Kaija Hackzell and Kirsti Toppar on city blocks. Based on the series of articles, [...]
Orioninkatu 18-20 is an As Oy building. Saarenkatu 3. The four-storey building has 28 apartments and was completed in 1956. The buildings were designed by A. Hytönen & R.-V. R. and R. Luukkonen. A wide green belt separates the building from the street. The house belongs to block 651, which was featured in Helsingin Sanomat on 8 May 1989 in a series of articles by Kaija Hackzell and Kirsti Toppar on city blocks. Books were also published based on the series of articles, and Hermann's Quarters [...]
Orioninkatu 2 is located at the corner of Orioninkatu and Vellamonkatu. The house was built in 1956 and designed by Else Aropaltio. The house is located behind the taller houses on Hämeentie and is clearly lower than the houses along Hämeentie. The buildings designed by Aropalttio (1914-2008) were characterised by a strong sense of aesthetics. (HS 10.11.2020) The already slightly weathered sarcophagus on the balcony of one of the apartments in the house [...]
The house at Orioninkatu 14-16 was designed by Terttu Mehto. The house was completed in 1958 and has 34 apartments. A wide green belt separates the house from the street. The house is part of block 651, which was featured in Helsingin Sanomat on 8 May 1989 in a series of articles by Kaija Hackzell and Kirsti Toppar on city blocks. Books were also published on the basis of this series of articles, and Hermann's quarters can be found in Oihonnankatuulta Kumpulantielle (1991). The article Houses on a cliff [...]
Orioninkatu 6 is located on the corner of Vegankatu. The house was designed by Else Aropaltio, who also designed the adjacent Orioninkatu 4, which was completed in 1956. The buildings designed by Aropalttio (1914-2008) were characterised by a strong sense of aesthetics. (HS 10.11.2020) The building is part of Block 650, which was featured in Helsingin Sanomat on 1 May 1989 in a series of articles by Kaija Hackzell and Kirsti Toppar on the city's neighbourhoods. The series of articles [...]
Orioninkatu 13-15 stands out from its neighbours with its reddish balconies and corrugated iron cladding on the façade. Asunto Oy Orioninrinne was built in 1959 and designed by Eevi Aho. According to Kaija Hackzell and Kirsti Toppar's book (1991), the house was called the Teachers' House after its first occupants. On the albums.lasipalatsi.fi website, a commentary on the house says that in the 1960s it was mainly occupied by police families. Orioninkatu 13-15 was featured in MTV's [...]
Orioninkatu 9 was completed in 1958. The house was designed by Irmeli and Matti Visanti. Orioninkatu 9 and Orioninkatu 11 are attached to each other, but they are two different housing associations. The house is located on the corner of Vegankatu. Kimmo Hietala, the main character in the television series Kimmo (2012-2017), lives in Orioninkatu 9 in the first season of the series. The house, apartment and balcony appear in the very first episode of the series. Kimmo [...]
Orioninkatu 1-3 is located at the corner of Orioninkatu and Vellamonkatu and the other address of the building is Vellamonkatu 6-8. The house was built in 1960 and designed by Klaus Groth. The house appears in a 1978 video clip of Arvi Lind introducing the Vallila and Hermann districts, which can be found in Yle Arena (at 00:24-00:27). The house is part of block 654, which was featured in Helsingin Sanomat on 29 May 1989 by Kaija Hackzell [...]
Orioninkatu 4 is the middle and newest of the houses at the beginning of Orioninkatu, which are attached to each other and continue along the whole block. The house was completed in 1962 and was designed by Else Aropaltio. The buildings designed by Aropalttio (1914-2008) were characterised by a strong sense of aesthetics. Aropaltio's golden age was the 1950s and the 1960s was a period of some fatigue or even decline for him. (HS 10.11.2020) The television series Kimmo [...]
Vellamonkatu kaartaa alas Orioninkadun risteyksen kohdalla. Hermannin monet kadunnimet ovat valittu laivojen mukaan; ne puolestaan olivat saaneet nimensä tähdistä. Näin on myös Vellamonkadun ja Orioninkadun kohdalla.
The bright orange and yellow Orioninkatu 8 is located on the corner of Vegankatu. The house was designed by Ola Hansson and completed in 1956. A wide green belt separates the house from the street. The ground floor is home to the Helsinki Road Safety Association. At least in the 1980s and 90s, the same site was home to the grocery store Hermann's Delicacy and in the 50s and 60s to Heinonen's butcher's shop. The house belongs to block 651, which was featured in Helsingin Sanomat on 8 May 1989 in a series of articles by Kaija Hackzell and Kirsti Toppar on city blocks. [...]
Sisäpiha sijaitsee Hämeentien ja Orioninkadun talojen rajaamassa korttelivälissä. Alue on pääosin nurmipintainen ja osin kallioinen piha-alue, jossa on säilynyt luonnonkalliota näkyvissä. Pihaa reunustavat 1950–1960-lukujen kerrostalot. Rakennusten sijoittelu muodostaa suojaisan, puolijulkisen pihatilan katualueiden väliin. Pihalla on istutettuja puita ja pensaita, avoimia nurmialueita, keinuja ja pieni hiekkapohjainen leikkialue. Lisäksi pihalla kulkee jalankulkureittejä rakennusten välillä.
In 2022, a parking lot is available at the semicircular market at the end of Orioninkatu.In 2022, the Hermann Village Festival was held at Orioninkatu and especially at the parking lot at the end of Orioninkatu. What it looked like before: Helsinkikuvia.fi: Winter view in northeastern direction at the corner of Orioninkatu and Saarenkatu