Although the street is mentioned in sources dating back to the 17th century, as early as the 16th century the first buildings appeared in this area - noble manors and palaces. The tenement houses started to be built in the 17th century and the name of the street - Nowy Świat - refers to the new settlement behind the city walls.
In the 19th century Nowy Świat was Warsaw's salon - the center of culture, art and entertainment, where you could meet the icons of the era. It was equally fashionable during the interwar period. At that time, crowded cinemas were built in the New World, and operetta and revue theaters were opened. Warsaw's cream of the crop liked to spend time in the growing number of fashionable cafes, patisseries and restaurants. Nowy Świat became a cult place, where you simply had to visit.
Nowy Swiat Street, like the rest of Warsaw, was badly damaged during World War II. Of the 71 pre-war buildings, only six survive in relatively good condition. After 1945, Nowy Świat was rebuilt, or rather reconstructed, referring to the appearance of the street from the 19th century, with some corrections. The main change was the alignment of the frontage heights. On July 22, 1949, the rebuilt Nowy Świat was put into operation.
The first mention of the Dorfners' Tenement House (Kamienica Nowy Świat 66) appeared in documents in 1770. Earlier there was a manor house belonging to the Dominican order. In the mid-19th century an annex in the southern part of the building was removed, but in 1897 the building was extended by several new ones. Destroyed during the war (only the eighteenth-century cellars survived), it was rebuilt in 1947-1949, with reference to its pre-war appearance. Today it houses the Teatro Hotel****.