The Municipal Society's Apartment Building is a three-story structure at 6 Rozhdestvenskaya Street in Nizhny Novgorod, a monument of history and architecture dating from the 19th to early 20th century. It was erected in 1822 and extensively rebuilt in 1896–1902. The building is associated with the name of first-guild merchant Fyodor Perepletchikov and for two centuries served as one of the centers of the city's business and public life.[1][2]
Construction History
In 1822, on the even-numbered side at the beginning of Rozhdestvenskaya Street, a modest two-story building with three wings was erected on the commission of first-guild merchant, city mayor and philanthropist Fyodor Petrovich Perepletchikov. The project was designed by architect Ivan Yefimov.[2]
Under Perepletchikov's will, the house passed to the city in 1845. The income from renting its premises was designated for the poor and went toward maintaining an almshouse.[1][2]
The second phase of construction took place from 1896 to 1902, in anticipation of the All-Russian Industrial and Art Exhibition of 1896. The work was carried out under the supervision of architect Vladimir Lemke: the building was raised by a third story, and the wings along Nagorny Lane were joined to the main structure. The façade was rendered in the Art Nouveau style: pylons with sculptural finials in the shape of eggs were placed above the cornice, mask bas-reliefs were set between the windows, and two small towers appeared above the main entrance.[1][2]
Tenants and the Life of the Building
Throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the building housed hotels, trading offices, coaching inns, and a bank.[1] In 1901, the Nikolayevsky Public Bank leased the premises — the Nikolayevsky Public Bank was one of the first credit institutions in the Russian Empire to offer loans to both merchants and peasants.[1]
In 1867, the British writer Lewis Carroll, author of *Alice's Adventures in Wonderland*, is believed to have stayed in the building; his visit resulted in notes on the history of Nizhny Novgorod.[1]
In 1922, the technical department of the future Avtozavod was established in the building.[1] During the Soviet period the house was subdivided into communal apartments; it also hosted the Mayakovsky Cinema, which was known for charging lower ticket prices than other cinemas in the city.[1]
Current condition
The ground floor is home to an art café, while the upper floor houses an alternative exhibition space where works by contemporary artists are displayed in a room with high ceilings and surviving decorative plasterwork. The building also accommodates the "Guild of Nizhny Novgorod Photographers."[1][2]
Sources
- laperuz.com — The municipal society's income-generating building in Nizhny Novgorod (archive)
- tripguide.guru — Rozhdestvenskaya Street in Nizhny Novgorod — a review of historic and notable sites with photos and descriptions