Two Moscow Konstantin Konovalov Bashny.Net

Back in 1931 year. Demolition of the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour / Our days.





KGB building - probably the worst building in Moscow (where were shot many people, and there are already almost a century sit on power structures of the country).
At first it was built in the neoclassical style for the insurance company "Russia", but it gave the NKVD in 1919. Then, when it was necessary to increase the inner prison for political prisoners, the building expanded, to attach to it a new building in the style of constructivism. The building was asymmetric, and stood there for almost half a century. And then the original facade built up by making the building symmetrical in the 80s. If you open the card Google, you'll see that the top of the building is not symmetrical, and is the place where to be Malaya Lubyanka.
Before the building was a monument to Dzerzhinsky. Now it is not, but a place in the center of Lubyanka Square to the monument there and looks weird. And no one knows what a monument can be put back because the poet put in front "bloody" building unethical. And the leaders of the Soviet monuments no longer set, but rumors of the monument to Gagarin.



Manezh Square and Okhotny Ryad.
Ryad is so called because in the past there were located shopping arcade suburban hunters who sell meat and poultry. Of all the things in the frame, there is still a building of the State Duma, the hotel "Moscow" rebuilt recently. In place of the modern underground shopping center it used to be the road. The photo shows one of the first Soviet trolleybuses YATB-1.



Big Stone Bridge.
The bridge was rebuilt twice, and now he is just downstream of the Moscow River than originally. First it was built really beautiful stone bridge, which consisted of many arches (in 1687). Photos of the time no, because the photo has not yet been invented, but it Vasnetsov painted the picture "All Saints stone bridge." Then the bridge was rebuilt in the one that is depicted in these photographs - metal, three-span (1858). And in 1938 they built the existing stone bridge. Before the bridge was connected to the street Lenivka and was closer to the temple of Christ the Savior.
I was madly inspired architecture of this bridge. Moscow does not have enough of these beautiful structures. Modern bridges do not fit into the ensemble of the Kremlin and the historic city.



Sukharev Tower (view from Sretenka).
At first I could not choose the right position for the photograph, because guided by the bell tower of the church of the Trinity in the leaves, but as it turned out, the bell tower a few times to change shape. And today - is recreated from photographs. She has all the proportions are met, but the size of it came a little more than before, and slightly offset from the initial placement. And now the main thing!
Sukharev Tower. She told Peter to build in 1692-m, and ordered to demolish Stalin in 1934. Decided to demolish it because now popular problem - the growing traffic loads. She stood at the intersection of the Garden Ring and Sretenka Street. The picture is remarkable in 1931.
Great artists and architects have sent a letter to Stalin:
"Sukharev Tower has a perennial pattern great art of building, known around the world, and everywhere equally highly valued. In spite of all the latest technology, it still has not lost its enormous demonstration and educational value for construction personnel. " "We ... strongly object to the destruction of highly talented works of art, is tantamount to the destruction of Raphael. In this case, the matter is not about Slomka odious monuments of feudalism, and the death of the great master of creative thought ».
But Stalin, they have not convinced ... I wonder how would look the Garden Ring and Sretenka now, given the current traffic if the tower preserved?



The Arc de Triomphe.
Arc de Triomphe - is a cult! Country someone won or achieved something - building an arch through which pass triumphant victors. These arches are all over the world: in the area of ​​Charles de Gaulle in Paris, the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin or in Moscow on Kutuzov. But in Moscow, Arch was not initially on Kutuzov, and Tverskaya Zastava at the Belorussky Railway Station.
In 1936, as well as the Sukharev Tower, the arch was demolished in the reconstruction of the area, though it promised to rebuild in the same place, but not restored. More precisely restored, but where it is now established, and 30 years later. We like to break, and then build again! Arch is dedicated to the victory over Napoleon.
Separately want to say that I am very surprised that the railing of the bridge over the railway Belarusian direction from which I took a picture, remained unchanged.
And an amazing feeling when you find yourself in precisely the point where people almost a century ago took the picture on your camera, and you're standing here with the iPad and take pictures of the same panorama, but in the center of the frame is no longer of splendor for which the person has come here with the camera. It's hard to describe it, but try it yourself!



Tower Barbarian gate.
Now people wonder why Moscow so many places named in honor of some gates: Nikita, Prechistenskie, Pokrovsky, barbaric gate. The thing is that before Moscow was surrounded by several defensive walls which were erected to defend against the Mongol-Tatar raids, around the contour of the walls were towers with a lot of gates.
Barbarian Tower gate was considered the most robust in the Kitai-Gorod wall and had a deep foundation against the undermining. Work on its construction began in 1534, and it lasted until 1934, when rid of it. But now, after the underpass under the barbaric gate area, on one of the walls of the transition, you will see the remains of the foundations of the tower - all that was left of it.



Ilyinsky Gate.
I continue a virtual tour of the Kitai-Gorod wall. By the way, in the late 16th century it was painted white, and originally it was a brick. The photograph Ilyinskikh tower gate. The tower is similar to the Kremlin, it was rebuilt after a fire in 1812. This is the kind of Maroseyka to Ilinka. To the right is a building of the Polytechnic Museum, on the left Ilyinsky Square with the monument to the Heroes of Plevna. Ilyinsky Gates were located between Nikolskie and barbaric gate. Ilyinsky Gate was originally built in 1534, together with the Kitai-Gorod wall. They destroyed it all in 1933.
After the demolition of the gates was named after them Ilyinsky Gate area. Also we wanted to call and a subway station, but decided not to build the station. Have you noticed that between the Revolution Square and Kursk too far? That's just in this area had to be Ilyinsky Gate station.



Vladimirsky Gate.
Travel Kitaygorodskaya wall continues. Where is now Lubyanka Square, before the gates were Vladimirskie (they Sretensky or Nikolsky). Make this picture was harder earlier - there are no reference points for which you can catch on to determine where is the tower and the gate and where the pictures were taken survived. First, this place in the times of Stalin demolished the wall of the temple walls, towers and gates and built the first phase of the metro station - Dzerzhinsky (now Lubyanka) in 1934. And then when Luzhkov in 1998 built the shopping center "Nautilus", which is quite out of place in this part of town. Because of this huge shopping center can not see the houses on Nikolskaya.
I have long studied the preserved pictures and found a picture, which shows the tip of the Tretyakov doors and the glass dome of the hotel "Metropol." With these two reference points and their intersection in the pictures I already had a line, which was a picture was taken, but lacked some other clues. She was the top of the apartment building on Nikolskaya, 21 and the angle of inclination of the Nikolskaya street. Of course, there is some uncertainty, but more accurately recreate unlikely to succeed. I made a sketch map, identifying the point of view, and went to shoot. The result is that the gates were in what is now the carriageway (turn to the Theater travel to New Square). At the place where now the Lubyanka station lobby, used to be a temple of the Vladimir Mother of God, and on-site shopping center "Nautilus" was a beautiful chapel of St. Panteleimon the Healer (see photo). Overall Lubyanka Square was once not so big as it is now.
The tower, as well as in Ilyinskikh gate, similar to the Kremlin, as it was rebuilt in this style after the fire of 1812. Vladimirskie gates were second-hand city center. Most bookshops were in here. They settled in St. Nicholas impasse. He was so named because it rested on the Kitai-Gorod wall, but then in the wall did little gate that people with theatrical fare could drop into the bookshop. Almost all the houses here were destroyed in 1934. So Nicholas impasse now is an imaginary place.



Resurrection (Iberian) gate and zero kilometer.
Built - broke - again built, if it is brief. Usually, no one thinks, but Resurrection Gate belong to the Kitai-Gorod wall. They are located between the historical museum and the city council and the building is the entrance to the Red Square.
Gate built in 1680, destroyed in 1931 on Stalin's orders, because road transport had to go to the Red Square, and military equipment are not held in such a narrow gate. For a long time there was a roadway, which is named after the Historical Museum - Historical travel, it is just the photograph. I restore them in 1994. Luzhkov! And he made a pedestrian zone there.
Before the gates is zero kilometer. It was established not so long ago - in 1995. Here, tourists throw a coin over your left shoulder. But in fact this is not a zero kilometer. This is the zero kilometer near the Central Telegraph. Just in Soviet times it wanted to establish front of the mausoleum, but did not, and the bronze mark manufactured and installed it in the nineties in the restored Resurrection Gate for a reason. In Paris, for example, zero kilometer is located at Notre Dame de Paris.



House under the skirt.
This unusual name for this house built in 1940, appeared in the nation. The thing is that on the roof of the house at the intersection of Tverskaya Street (formerly Gorky) and the Boulevard was a sculpture of a ballerina. To this day the sculpture is not preserved. There are several legends, why it was dismantled:
she began to break down and can not withstand wind currents, it was dismantled so as not to fall on passers-by;
in time of war it would remove in order to hide the prominent landmark and that enemy aircraft was difficult to navigate the city, although it experienced a time of war, and stood before the 1958-1963 year (the exact date could not be found dismantling);
Minister of Culture EA Furtsevoy did not like that she was too short skirt and was on the dais.
There is a legend that a ballerina Lepeshinskaya, the image of which was made sculpture, broke her arm and hand sculpture immediately fell off. After that, and made a full dismantling, fearing the fall of other parts of the body to passersby.
Large photographs of the sculpture could not be found, even though it stood for nearly 20 years and has been very noticeable. I think ballerina sculpture on the roof of the house is much better than the glowing logo, roof flooded the whole of Moscow.
By the way, the site of this house until 1933 was a church Demetrios.



Metro station street Comintern
Before the Russian State Library (Lenin Library) was the Comintern Street station lobby. Now the station is called "Alexander Garden" and that it has no lobby. There are only common lobby with the station Arbat, located in a building of the Russian Library. Separate entrance hall was dismantled in the 40's. Now, this place is an underground passage from which you can go on the subway, and a monument to Dostoevsky, set in 1997.
Comintern Street subway station was part of the first Moscow metro. Through its lobby could come down to the station and the Lenin Library, but transplant between two stations was not originally.
The station also was called "Kalinin" (1946 and 1990). A few days in 1990, it was called "Vozdvizhenka" and this title even managed to put on the underground circuit.



Red Gate.
For Muscovites in the first place is the name of the subway station. Especially recognizable ground lobby of unusual shape. The station was built in 1935 as part of the first subway line. But the story of the origin of the name. This gate is placed in 1709 on the orders of Peter the Great to commemorate the victory over the Swedes at Poltava, called them a triumphal arch. Then the gates were replaced by new ones in 1724, and several years later they were burned. In 1742 they recovered and they were burned again. And only in 1753 they hit upon the idea to make a stone. The walls of the gate were blood-red (which is why they are red) with white relief in the Baroque style. The whole structure was crowned with a statue of an angel. Arch lasted until 1927, it prevented the expansion of the Garden Ring. At the same time the church was demolished and the Three Hierarchs adjacent.
By the way, this place is directly connected with Lermontov. He was born in the house next door - now on the site of this house is the Stalinist skyscraper. From 1962 to 1986, the area was called Lermontov. The name of the subway station in this period, too, have changed on Lermontov. And Lermontov monument is not far from here.
Find the exact position of the gate was difficult. We can say that this picture is approximate, because almost all the houses around were built in the 30s, when the gate was gone. But I was guided by the position of the streets and corners of the building. Gates were on the site of internal bandwidth of the Garden Ring. From the gate preserved sculpture of an angel, it is kept in the Historical Museum.



Vasilevsky descent.
Let's start with the fact that there is no concept mapping "descent", so that this place is called the area Vasilevsky descent, although an area of ​​few people used to call this place. As you can see on the picture, before there were houses. Here at the Customs office where the duty is being paid to the Moscow-fit cattle. Later there appeared many shopping shops. In 1937, the house was torn down, and then built a new bridge Moskvoretsky.
If you look at the history of the Moscow metro, the originally planned to build the subway here. But not under the earth, and over, it is now almost a monorail in the north of Moscow. The idea of ​​a grand, perhaps for its implementation, and all the houses demolished. Red Square was planned station of the same name "Red Square". But plans changed with the construction of the subway several times, and this project was abandoned.
A little bit about the history of the name. Vasilievskaya area called the space between the St. Basil's Cathedral, built in 1561, and the Kremlin, but then this area was attached to the Red Square. And the name of Vasilyevsky Spusk given only in 1995.
This place is also famous for the fact that in 1987 it landed here avialyubiteley German Mathias Rust, raising doubts about the firmness of Defense. After this event, Muscovites often joked, giving the Red Square and Vasilyevsky Slope called "Sheremetyevo-3».



Skyscraper on Tinkers embankment.
Skyscraper on Tinkers embankment is on the mouth of the river Yauza. It is located about 700 apartments, shops, a post office and a cinema "Illusion". It consists of three buildings - A, B and C. I drew attention to this high-rise in the project, because initially was built only body A. This is part of the nine-building, which overlooks the Moscow River. It was built in the years 1938-1940, before the war. Only after the war it was decided to build a high-rise throughout Moscow. It was built on the pre-revolutionary technologies - mixed floors, curtain walls made of boards. At first glance it seems that the second wing of the high-rise (building B, overlooking the Yauza) built a symmetrical body A. But it is not. Facades are lined in a similar style, even the roof of the gabled buildings A, while in the flat. Initially, the case didn reliefs and generally facing. The house was a red brick. And in 1953, after the completion of all high-rise buildings all buildings issued in the same style.
Interestingly, the body A, and then the skyscraper itself after some time, designed the same architect Chechulin. This is one of the most striking examples of the superstructure houses in Moscow. In case A to most of the 2000s there were communal apartments. For the purposes of fire safety in the corridors of each apartment has a door to the next, so the house could pass through



Monument to Gogol.