The present Bem square (which has been bearing the name since 1957) looked exceptionally beautiful at the beginning of the 20th century, for five charming, Art Nouveau tenement houses were built here. Unfortunately, only three of them survived to the present day. The rest (numbers 1 and 5) burned in 1945.

The remaining ones were the most impressive of all. They are also one of the most ornamented tenement houses in the city. Buildings number 2 and 3, with pointy towers, were built in 1905. The former one is more of Neo-Baroque style with its unique ornamentation and balconies. The latter one, on the other hand, was built rather according to Eclectism. It has some surprising Jewish symbols that survived WWII intact.

The last tenement house was built in 1908. Formerly it was number 4, nowadays it is a part of Kopernika street. It is Villa Martha, according to the inscription on the façade. The name suggesting palace architecture results from the fashion at that time, rather than from the face of the building.