Arbat Square appeared in the last decades of the 18th century, when the Arbat Gate was dismantled in the White City. She very little resembled the modern one. The area was formed at the place where the roads intersected to Smolensk and Novgorod.
Why is it called so
The whole district has been built up since the XV century. It was named Arbat (translated from Arabic - "suburb"). It grew, and in 1808 the architect Rossi built a wooden theater of unprecedented beauty. Performances in it were in both Russian and French. The square was paved, but the fire of 1812 destroyed everything.
Further development
In the novel “Adolescence” (in the first half of the 19th century), L. Tolstoy described it as quiet, provincial, with water carriers, sleepy cabmen on shabby paths. Arbat Square was still very dirty. Chertoriy stream flowed along it. Horses were exhausted, taking out heavy carriages or carts from impassable, waterlogged soil. In the year 72 of the 19th century, the Prague Pub was built and opened here. His cabs in Moscow began to be called "Braga." Arbat Square appealed to the merchant Tararykin in 1902. He bought and rebuilt the inn, made it a great restaurant. The Moscow intelligentsia fell in love with him: the famous annual “Rubinstein dinners” were held there, the poet Verkharn and I. Repin were honored. After the revolution, this place changed its purpose many times. There was a canteen of Mosselprom, a library, and only in 1955 the restaurant was restored. Czechoslovakia helped to equip it. From it table crystal and chandeliers were brought. "Prague" began to justify its name.
In 1909, on the right side of Khanzhonkov Square, one of the first Russian organizers of the film industry opened a cinema, which he called "Artistic". The auditorium was four hundred seats, there was a fountain in the lobby. Now there is a monument to the first movie ticket. The cinema was rebuilt many times. Now in it again, as it was under Khanzhonkov, three rooms, the balcony is restored. During the reconstruction, the old steps that led to the cinema were replaced with new granite ones. Nearby put
public toilets with a security system. Tickets for them are sold right there, nearby. The Maternity Hospital of Grauerman is another historical building that is known for the birth of Bulat Okudzhava,
Kir Bulychev, Andrey Mironov, Alexander Shirvindt, Mark Zakharov, Mikhail Derzhavin. Here in Soviet times, the best obstetricians worked, there was the most modern equipment. But activists did not defend this building.
To the right of the cinema was a covered market, on the site of which the entrance to the Arbatskaya metro was built. By the 70s of the last century, Arbat Square had become shapeless, a tunnel was laid under it, the square as such did not.
Modern landscaping
The square is located in the very center of Moscow, and the view was unpresentable. Arbatskaya metro station had to squeeze along a narrow passage, because for about 20 years there was an unauthorized large two-story building nearby, which blocked the passage of passengers to the very busy station of the Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya line. It was demolished in February 2016. Now they made a pedestrian zone in the square. The improvement of Arbat Square affected not only her, but also the streets adjacent to it: Znamenka, Krestovozdvizhensky and Starovagankovsky lanes. In the pedestrian space of almost twenty-one thousand square meters. m was laid out large granite tiles. Its service life will be more than one dozen years. Put the lights and benches. One hundred and fifty-four main lamps, as well as forty-four additional floor lamps, began to illuminate the area. At the same time, the air wires are hidden underground.
Location of Arbat Square in Moscow
Where Gogolevsky Boulevard, Znamenka Street and Arbat Gate Square intersect, the modern Arbat Square is located. The photograph shows part of it.
One can see the Khudozhestvenny cinema and the detail of the entrance to the
Arbat-Filevskaya metro
line (the red building at the back). It has a star shape with five ends.
When did the transformation begin
From May to August 2016, work was carried out to change the appearance of the territory (Arbat Square). Moscow needed a modern, in line with the spirit of the time, updated area according to the developed program "My Street". In accordance with it, not only this square was affected, but also four adjacent streets. They expanded the sidewalks, changed the lanes of cars and replaced 33.5 thousand square meters. m of asphalt pavement, arranged convenient parking so that you could walk around the square further. Green spaces are not forgotten.
Thirty-one trees and twenty-five shrubs have already been planted. The area was decorated with benches, flowerbeds, lawns. They created a cozy place for walks of Muscovites and guests of the capital. The adjacent streets, along with Arbat Square, have acquired a modern look worthy of the capital of a huge state.