Look skyward while walking around Riga and you will be rewarded with glimpses of fanciful architectural flourishes. Roughly 40 percent of the buildings in this port city were built in the Art Nouveau style. Some of these stately stunners—constructed primarily at the turn of the 20th century, during the height of Riga’s wealth, and clustered in the city’s historic city center—have seen better days. This fact, along with the blustery weather that accompanied my visit, lent an air of Baltic melancholy to the streets. Still, there is a quiet but palpable spirit of renewal in Riga, demonstrated by…
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