The V. P. Chkalov Palace of Children's Creativity is a municipal institution of supplementary education in Nizhny Novgorod, operating since 1937. It is located at 39 Piskunov Street, at the intersection with Ulyanov Street, in the building of the former Nizhny Novgorod branch of the Peasant Land Bank. It is a cultural heritage site of federal significance.
History of the Building
The Neo-Russian-style building was designed by the architect Fyodor Livchak, with construction supervised by the engineer Pavel Kikin. Work began in 1914, at the height of the First World War, to which the three majolica panels on the façade are dedicated: the central one shows a plowman against a central Russian landscape, the one on the left an epic bogatyr in battle, and the one on the right Cossacks pursuing retreating Germans. Above all three panels is an inscription: "This building was erected in the years 1914–1915 of the Great European War." The bank's interior included ceiling stucco, oak paneling, mosaic floors, and copper floor lamps; the building was equipped with steam heating, plumbing, electrical alarm systems, and a telephone.
According to the institution's official website, the bank opened in 1916[2]; other sources say 1917. After the Revolution the financial institution was closed and the building was requisitioned: it housed the Council of the National Economy. On May 27, 1936, by Resolution No. 435 of the Presidium of the Gorky Regional Executive Committee, the building was transferred to the Palace of Pioneers. Before the opening, the architect Alexander Yakovlev met personally with the Pioneers to take their wishes into account when refitting the premises.[2] The Palace of Pioneers and Schoolchildren was ceremonially opened on April 30, 1937.
Activities
The first clubs were aircraft modeling, ship modeling, driving, military marksmanship, and radio construction. Soon a chess club, handicraft clubs, a young naturalists' room, a choir, and a children's puppet theater appeared. The Krasnoye Sormovo Plant set up a water transport room, the Molotov Automobile Plant an automobile room, and craftsmen from Semyonov decorated a "fairy-tale room." In the urban transport room, a real miniature tram with sidings and switches ran along a 22-meter track. In 1939 the Pioneers initiated the opening of the Gorky Children's Railway.
During the Great Patriotic War, in 1942 the Palace sent 328 Komsomol members to the Solovetsky School of Ship's Boys; a memorial plaque and anchors at the entrance commemorate this to this day. The Palace initiated a fundraising drive for the "Gorky Pioneer" tank. During the war, a children's home was set up in the building for children evacuated from besieged Leningrad; among them was Tanya Savicheva, whose diary was later presented as an incriminating document at the Nuremberg Trials. For its work during the war years, the Palace of Pioneers and a number of its staff were awarded a Certificate of Honor from the State Defense Committee (1945).
In the postwar decades the institution opened the first children's swimming pool in Russia (1951), the first tourist and sports camp, "Zvyozdochka" (1956), the first children's radio laboratory, and the first museum of a children's organization in Russia (1961). In 1969, following the example of Leningrad and Chelyabinsk, the Students' Scientific Society was founded. In 1992 the Palace was renamed the V. P. Chkalov City Palace of Youth Creativity, and in 2003 it received the status of "Municipal Educational Institution of Supplementary Education for Children — V. P. Chkalov Palace of Children's (Youth) Creativity." The Palace has twice been awarded the Gold Medal of the VDNKh (Exhibition of Achievements of the National Economy).
Restoration of 2020–2024
Restoration of the building began in 2020 and was originally due to be completed in 2021, for the 800th anniversary of Nizhny Novgorod. The original contractor, AVK Group LLC, which performed the work for 139 million rubles, missed the deadlines, and its contract was terminated. In 2023 another 150 million rubles were allocated to complete the work, and in 2024 over 60 million rubles more were planned to be allocated.
During the restoration, the historic stucco molding, the 1916 staircase, and the historic chandeliers and light fixtures were restored by hand. 850 window elements, more than 50 doors, and 2,500 pieces of hardware were refurbished; the building's utility systems were completely replaced. A new space appeared in the lobby — an eco-café — and digital information screens were installed. A small museum dedicated to the aviator Valery Chkalov was opened on the ground floor, with authentic photographs, along with exhibits on the history of the building itself.[2] The city allocated more than 70 million rubles to equip the clubs with modern equipment.[1]
On September 2, 2024, the Palace reopened after its restoration. The institution has four faculties (civic, technical, leadership skills, and arts), as well as a Center for Pedagogical Skills and an Ecology Center — 52 programs in all. At that time, about 3,500 children were attending the clubs under the guidance of roughly 200 teachers, 70% of whom had themselves attended the Palace's clubs as children.[1] At the same time, in Verkhniye Pechyory, on Composer Kasyanov Street, a branch of the Palace is being renovated; the work, worth 136 million rubles, is being carried out by the company Megapolis LLC.
Links
- Official website (nn.ru)
Sources
- nizhny800.ru — Chkalov Palace of Pioneers — Nizhny (archive)
- cyclowiki.org — Palace of Pioneers (Gorky) — Cyclopedia