The legendary AZLK plant in Moscow, on Volgogradsky Prospekt, opened in 1930, was closed due to bankruptcy. Its territory occupied a huge area, which now houses various small enterprises. By the half-century date of the auto giant’s activity, the plant management decided to build a museum of AZLK.
Opening for the anniversary
Today, not only the assembly shops of the plant do not operate, but the AZLK museum has stopped its exhibition activities . All that remained of it was a remarkable architectural form; the application itself has not yet been found. The museum was opened in 1980 to the fiftieth anniversary of the AZLK plant. The architect of the project was Regent Yu. A. The building resembles a landed flying saucer. This concept was popular during the construction of the facility.
Exhibition Concept
The first concept of the exhibition was to demonstrate the latest developments of the automotive giant, but by the time it was opened, the idea had changed, it was decided to give preference to a historical retrospective of the model range of cars. Almost all car models were assembled under the domed roof of the opening hall, starting from the first Fords and ending with experimental models that just went through the stage of sample creation.
The AZLK Museum in Moscow contained unique pieces on display that had never been mass-produced. The audience was amazed by the racing cars that won more than one prize in domestic and international races and rallies. The formation of the exhibition took place around the central support of the room on which the central circular lamp was mounted. Entering the exhibition hall, the visitor fell into the cycle of cars of one brand, many of which remained projects made in a single copy.
Exposition Composition
The exhibition at the AZLK Museum began with the two first-born of the plant - passenger Fords, one of which is a sedan, and the second has a phaeton-type body. Next to them was the legendary domestic car - a lorry GAZ-AA. These cars were produced at a time when the plant bore the name KIM (in honor of the Communist International of Youth).
Before the war, the KIM plant planned to release a model of a car KIM-10-50; the only surviving installation copy was exhibited on the hall stand next to the M-40 machine, the production of which began in 1947. Also in the museum it was possible to consider in detail the export models M-408, M-412 and the M-402 demanded in the Union in various modifications.
The most interesting part of the exposition was devoted to the development of the design bureau, which predicted completely new practical and modern car models. Prototypes - "Svyatogor", "Prince Vladimir", jeeps, pickups, specialized cars for police and ambulances promised a new round in the development of the car concern. But default and the lack of state support buried all plans and destroyed the plant.
Plant bankruptcy
The AZLK Museum was a rare occurrence in the engineering field. Not all enterprises built a separate building for the museum, under whose roof so many cars were assembled. During the formation of the exposition, all models were exhibited on the podium, but over time there were too many of them, and they occupied all the free space.
The AZLK plant first stopped operation in 1996, at the same time the museum was closed to visitors. A few years after the officially declared bankruptcy, access here was possible, but visiting the facility was possible only by prior arrangement.
Reviews
According to the reviews of rare lovers who got into the AZLK museum after the bankruptcy of the plant, the room fell into disrepair, and in poor lighting it was difficult to consider a collection of cars. But the exposition was admired by everyone who managed to get to know her.
The cars stored in the museum were the pride of the Soviet automobile industry and demonstrated the huge potential of the enterprise, noticeable in the models of recent years of activity. Many expressed the opinion that state participation in solving the financial problems of an enterprise would not only prevent bankruptcy. Timely subsidies would save the entire industry, because there were enough talented engineers. Cars such as "Yuri Dolgoruky", "Svyatogor" and their modifications, clearly proved the competitiveness of the range of cars in both domestic and foreign markets.
Timelessness
After the official closure of the plant, it was assumed that the AZLK museum would transfer the entire collection to the funds of the Museum of the History of Moscow, where it was planned to create an exposition based on the cars received and documentation. It was supposed to include documents about the history of the plant, achievements, developments that did not receive serial continuation. In addition to the automobile part, it was expected that there would be an exhibition of other products manufactured at AZLK, as well as documentation: badges, toys, household appliances, models, drawings, photo archives and the archive of the factory newspaper.
What happened to the collection since 2001 is unknown. The museum was officially closed on August 22, 2008. Then, among collectors and car enthusiasts, rumors were circulating about the destruction of unique models and models of cars. It was rumored that the entire collection of the retro park was sold into unknown hands or sawn for scrap; some managed to get into the AZLK museum. Photos from conducted “sorties” periodically appeared on photography forums.
New life collection
In 2009, on City Day, a collection of cars stored in the AZLK museum was solemnly donated to Moscow. Today, an almost complete collection of historical models can be seen at the Museum of Retro Cars. Almost the entire fleet of vehicles was transferred to the capital's Department of Transport.
The first Ford cars of the KIM plant and the most popular Moskvich 400 and Moskvich 420 models, unique racing cars and single-piece models were exhibited at the stands. Fans and connoisseurs of technology can also admire the anniversary models of technology, which marked a certain frontier of achievements - 4 and 5 million cars. Today, everyone can see the collection that the AZLK museum in Moscow previously collected. Address: Rogozhsky shaft, building 9/2.
The latest developments of AZLK are also presented at the stands. Models with “princely” names are demonstrated here: “Ivan Kalita”, “Yuri Dolgoruky”, “Svyatogor” and others. Only questions remain about where the documentary part of the exposition was sent, as well as the entire archive of photo and video documents, which made up a considerable part of the country's heritage and the history of the development of the domestic automotive industry.
In the Museum of retro cars of the capital on the Rogozhsky shaft, the former AZLK Museum in Moscow is carefully stored and adequately represented. Opening hours: from 10:00 to 21:00, closed on Monday. Thematic tours are held for visitors, one of them is dedicated to the AZLK plant and is called "The History of the Moskvich".