One of the most notable buildings in St. Petersburg, located in the heart of the Northern capital - on Nevsky Prospekt - is the Singer building. We will tell you more about his rich history and fate in the material below.
Who is Singer
Probably everyone knows that Singer is a sewing company. Because of this, it is not difficult to conclude that the “Singer House” is a house somehow connected with this office. This is true, however, before telling about the history of the Singer building in St. Petersburg, we will get to know a person named Singer, in whose honor the sewing company was named, and find out who he is.
Isaac Singer (according to some sources, Isaac; in fact, these are variants of the same name) lived in the nineteenth century. He was an industrialist, a businessman — as his occupation would have been determined — an inventor; and it was he who became the founder of the same-name company for the production of sewing machines (having previously improved their design).
Isaac was born in the United States in the early nineteenth century. Based on his name, many suggest that he was Jewish by nationality; There is no exact information about this, as well as about the origin of his parents. It is known that Reisinger was the real name of his father; how the first syllable fell away is also unclear.
When Isaac was ten years old, his parents divorced. At first, the future inventor stayed with his father, but he married a second time, with his stepmother the young Singer did not find a common language - and fled from home. He received his first income in the theater, performing on stage. He imagined himself a great artist, but the rest held the opposite opinion. Perhaps that is why he subsequently abandoned the theater and hit upon invention.
He began to invent in 1839, he was then twenty-eight. The first patent was received for a rock drilling machine. As for the sewing machine, it is a mistake to assume that Singer invented it. This is not so, and he himself never said such a thing. In 1850, when Singer showed the public his first model of the aforementioned apparatus, other models of such machines were already on the market. According to legend, it took Singer only ten days to improve the proposed early models and eliminate their shortcomings. So, it was Singer who arranged the shuttle horizontally, which turned out to be more convenient. In addition, he introduced a number of other innovations that made it possible to consider his sewing machine the best and brought him not only fame, but also condition.
Building "Singer House", Petersburg
The company "Singer", founded by Isaac Singer, appeared in the early 50s of the 19th century. And the first Russified plant in our country started working only at the beginning of the 20th century. He appeared not in St. Petersburg, oddly enough, but in Podolsk. As for the history of the Singer building in St. Petersburg, it is partially associated with the appearance of a similar structure in New York. However, first things first ...
Original idea
By the beginning of the twentieth century, the aforementioned sewing company was fabulously rich. Wanting to strengthen her "sewing power", she began to build premises for her branches in different cities and even countries. For example, the owners built an 11-story office skyscraper in Manhattan - at that time (recall, this was the very beginning of the twentieth century) eleven floors were really considered a skyscraper.
So, erecting a similar building in the United States, company representatives drew attention to the capital of the Russian Empire (this is not a reservation, it was Petersburg that was then the capital of our country). The leadership of “Singer” wished to build a skyscraper in St. Petersburg, similar to the American one. An artist has already been found who would take up this work and carry out a project on the model of Ernest Flagg, an American colleague whose "pen" belonged to the same Singer Building in Manhattan.
However, such plans were not destined to be realized.
Plans have changed
Yes, plans really had to be changed. And all because, firstly, St. Petersburg is located in a swampy area, which does not have the ability to build skyscrapers, which at that time became popular in the United States. Secondly, in St. Petersburg there was a restriction on the height of buildings being erected. It was determined by the height of the Winter Palace. New buildings should not exceed twenty-three meters with a little. It would seem that the idea of ​​the Singer company to settle in a skyscraper on Nevsky Prospect collapsed. However, a solution was found - the architect Pavel Suzor found it, who subsequently completed the work.
This exit was the construction of a huge dome, which is crowned now by the Singer building. The thing is that the restriction on the construction of buildings in height extended exclusively to the facades of buildings. The attic and the dome, erected on the building of the Singer company in St. Petersburg, did not fall under the ban. They begin already above the Winter Palace, however, not a word of protest was said - and Suzor set to work.
The location for the Zinger building was not accidental (it is located on Nevsky Prospekt, directly opposite the Kazan Cathedral). This is one of the busiest and most passable places in the city - both now and in those times - so the flow of customers to the office was ensured.
Interestingly, at the end of the eighteenth century, on this plot of land, a three- and then a four-story building was first built. There were three offices in this building: a music store, a photo shop and a bookstore. Moreover, it was the latter that owned most of the building. So the further appearance of the bookstore in the Zinger building in St. Petersburg (pictured below) was probably predetermined historically. However, we will not run far ahead. The Book House on Nevsky has not yet appeared, but the Singer company, on the contrary, is still flourishing.
Architecture
In the Singer building on Nevsky Prospekt, different styles were bizarrely mixed. This is neo-baroque, which is expressed, for example, by the Valkyries - they are located on the ship rostra under the dome, or cartouches - a frame in the form of a shield with curls or a scroll in half-expanded form. And it’s also modern: dragon heads, floral ornaments, glazed tiles and so on point to it. Such a mixture of styles gave an additional peculiar charm to this unusual building, unlike any other.
At the same time, even framing the building, the architect did not forget that it would belong to the commercial facility, and, having shown imagination and ingenuity, reflected this in the design. So, the aforementioned Valkyries hold who the rod of Mercury is a symbol of trade, who is a spindle, and who does ... a sewing machine.
The Valkyrie sculptures (there are three pairs in total) are located both in the attic and under the very top of the dome. They support a glass globe crowning the dome of the Singer building. At a time when this house belonged to a sewing office, the aforementioned globe served as an advertisement for this establishment. Inside, it was illuminated by electricity, and outside it was surrounded by an inscription in the form of the name of the company.
After the revolution
During the years that the Singer building belonged to the company of the same name, it housed not only the representative office of the company in our country, not only the store selling sewing machines, but also sewing workshops. The thing is that Singer not only traded equipment, but also took orders for sewing clothes.
When the Singer building was just being erected in St. Petersburg and the company was settling in the Russian capital, no one expected it to last long. The construction of the Singer House was completed in 1904, and already in 1917 the revolution broke out.
And although before the coup, the office leased some premises in its building (for example, to the United States Embassy during the First World War, and even earlier to one of the banks), the revolution changed everything. Including the owners of the Singer company building.
Starting from the seventeenth year, the house under the dome of sewing production no longer belonged - although the name, already firmly entrenched, remains the same.
Under the book banners
Currently, many Petersburgers call the building under the dome on the main avenue of the city not the Singer building (in the photo you can see what the house looked like in the old days and what kind it looks like now), but the Book House. And this is no coincidence: it is the bookstore that reigns today in the premises of the former sewing office.
However, today we will return later, but in the meantime we will plunge into 1919 - the year when new owners appeared at the Singer House building.
This owner was Petrogosizdat, the organization responsible for magazines, various editorial offices, and bookstores. That is why in early December 1919 the keys to the bookstore No. 1, located on the first two floors of the Singer building in St. Petersburg (phot, used as illustrations for the article, make sure that this is a real architectural masterpiece) were handed to its director. On the upper floors, editorial offices of various magazines and publishers began to be housed. So it is not surprising that regular writers and poets of the Book House were various writers and poets of the early twentieth century: Samuel Marshak, Korney Chukovsky, Daniil Kharms and many, many others regularly visited the building on Nevsky Prospekt opposite Kazan Cathedral.
In the war and the second half of the twentieth century
The Book House has since been working tirelessly for residents and visitors to the city on the Neva. He worked for Petersburgers even under the difficult conditions of the besieged Leningrad - even when a bomb fell into the building and many windows were knocked out, the store did not close, but continued to bring the inhabitants of the city at least a little bit of joy.
After the war, the building was first renovated - then for a short period of time the store closed, but already in 1948 it opened its doors to visitors again. On the opening day, there were indeed crowds of people eager to get inside the entrance to the Book House.
The second repair was carried out in the former Singer House exactly before the onset of the new century - in 1999. It turned out to be more serious, since by that time the building was dilapidated by almost seventy percent, including the need to replace engineering systems and various communications.
Currently
At the beginning of the twenty-first century, the House of Books underwent a major overhaul, one might even say, a real restoration. The original appearance of the building was restored, such as it appeared after the completion of construction by Pavel Suzor. The Book House is still open today. And the top three floors are leased by VKontakte for their office.
The Singer Building in Facts
- The building has six floors plus an attic with a dome as the seventh floor.
- The area of ​​the Singer House is more than seven thousand square meters.
- For the first time in our country, it was during the construction of the Singer building in St. Petersburg that a metal frame was used - thanks to this, huge windows were made. In addition, atriums (courtyards under a glass roof) were also built for the first time, and the building was equipped with all the latest (at that time, of course), wonders of technology, including elevators. In the basement of the building were air conditioners, which supplied clean and cool air throughout the room.
- Two sculptors worked on the design of the facade.
- In the design of the building, a marine theme can be traced - a globe symbolizing various countries, Valkyries located below ... Probably, in this way a hint was given that with the help of trade (by sea, of course), the Singer would go around the whole world.
- The diameter of the globe at the top of the dome of the building is almost three meters.
- What is more unusual about the Zinger building is that the drainpipes in this house are invisible. During the construction, the architect simply hid them in the walls - an unprecedented move for those times, which surprised and delighted many.
- The exact address where the modern “Book House” is located is: Nevsky Prospect, 28. To get to it, you need to go to the Nevsky Prospect metro station - there are several stations on the avenue of the same name, but this one is the closest to the right place.
Other interesting facts
- St. Petersburg "Book House" is considered one of the largest bookstores not only in our country, but throughout Europe. And on the second floor of the organization is the cafe “Singer”, located right next to the huge panoramic windows.
- According to some reports, excursions are periodically organized on the roof of the Singer building, in the famous glass dome, if agreed with the press service of the VKontakte company. The lucky ones who managed to visit there are enthusiastic about the beautiful, breathtaking view that opens from there.
- The company “Singer” in its heyday had more than three thousand outlets throughout our country.
- The aforementioned office was one of the first in Russia to sell sewing machines on credit. In those years when the Singer company flourished in North Palmyra, the expression “run from Singer” was used in the capital. This meant that a person took the goods by installments from a sewing machine company, but he could not (or did not want to) pay off the debt, and therefore he was hiding from paying it and his creditors.
- Initially, Singer was a German company. However, when the First World War began, the company declared itself American. This was done in order to avoid possible attacks. It was for this purpose — self-defense — that the premises were handed over to the US Embassy. Nevertheless, it was the allegations of ties to Germany that ultimately forced the Singer company to part with its beautiful building in the seventeenth year: they were accused of espionage.
- In Soviet times, there were rumors that there were elements of gold and / or platinum in the Singer typewriters. Naive Soviet beggars who wanted to get rich chased these cars - and, of course, did not find anything. In general, a huge number of various rumors and legends are associated with Singer products: gold was smelted into the sewing machines of this company, and there were mercury needles for these machines, and serial numbers are rare for which you can get a million dollars. All this remained nothing more than rumors and legends.
- What is said above is only idle speculation of people. But what is historically accurate is that even before the old four-story building, on the site of which now stands the St. Petersburg Book House, in the late thirties of the eighteenth century there was a small wooden house. It housed a theater - and this building lasted exactly twelve years, until it was destroyed by fire. And then, at this place, the archpriest first lived, then the pharmacist - and only after that there appeared those offices, which had already been mentioned.
- With the outbreak of World War I, an eagle appeared on the facade of the Singer House - of course, a sculptural symbol of America. He did not last long on the building: he disappeared without a trace in the twenties.
This is information about the Singer building in the Northern capital, in which the Book House is now located. By the way, the latter works daily from nine in the morning until midnight. The doors of the former Singer House are open to all comers.