Greetings, friends! Last time I took a walk through the central part of the city, one of the most popular attractions. This time I decided I wanted a contrasting experience and went for a walk through one of the old industrial districts.
It's probably not quite right to call this neighbourhood an industrial area nowadays. This area was the city's outskirts in the 19th century, and many industries were located here. But the city grew, and the old outskirts turned out to be inside the city limits long ago. New housing estates sprang up, and new business and industrial centres sprang up. Businesses have moved into new buildings, and old workshops and warehouses serve as temporary homes for tenants. Sometimes old buildings are demolished and new residential or commercial complexes sprout up in their place.
As a result, the development of this neighbourhood looks very chaotic. You'll find a old wooden house at the foot of a brand new high-rise building. Or an old red brick shop, blackened by time, next to an office centre clad in multicoloured panelling. I was primarily interested in the low-rise apartment buildings, built in the 1920s and '30s for the workers of nearby factories.
I had hoped that I would ride the bus and look out the window, and as soon as I saw these houses, I would get out and start my walk. But that turned out to be the wrong tactic, out the window I saw the very chaotic landscape I described above. As soon as I noticed an old building and thought it was safe to go out, the landscape changed. I saw another boring fence, or a petrol station, or a wasteland, or a modern office centre. Finally I thought I could see some old, low-slung houses at the back of the block, and I hurried to get off the bus.
I was prepared for the walk a little. I had marked some addresses on the map beforehand, but I hoped to find more interesting buildings and details. The first find was quite simple: an ornament of two fire axes on the gates of the fire station. Then I wandered for a while between boring, monotonous buildings. These houses were built in an era of struggle against architectural excesses. The lack of decoration and standard layouts made construction cheaper and quicker. After a while I arrived at the very houses I had hoped to find in the area.
The main site I was going to see was the Palevsky housing estate. This point had been put on my map in advance. The Palevsky housing estate is the most famous of the working-class housing estates of the 1920s. The housing estate consists of 19 buildings which are very similar to each other but differ in small details.
In the garden I noticed an unusual art object. I didn't immediately realise exactly what I was seeing. The light cylindrical shapes were hard to read against the snow. I stepped closer to get a closer look. There was still snow in the garden, though it had finally warmed up in the last few days, and the snow was actively melting. In just a week, the streets had been transformed.
I came to a housing estate for textile factory workers. These houses were built in the 1920s in the constructivist style. I found out later that I should have prepared my walk more carefully - I was so engrossed in looking at the low-rise yellow and red houses that I missed another building. It's also a workmen's dwelling, but built earlier, in 1885. Well, hopefully I'll rectify that omission one day!
The building that drew my attention so much was the school building. I noticed a small dome on the roof and tried to get a good look at it. It's a characteristic detail of schools built in the 1920s. Astronomy was a highly respected science and observatories were included in the building plan along with the more usual classrooms - such as sports and assembly halls, physics and chemistry rooms.
Further on I went to the parish house of the Church of the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God. The house is part brick and part wooden. It was built in 1896. I think it was typical building for its time. The building now stands out very much from the surrounding area. There are no wooden or stone-wood buildings in the vicinity.
I went out quite early for a walk, and dressed according to the street thermometer. But the spring sun was getting hotter with every mile I walked. I took off my wool jumper, but it wasn't enough. Time to call it a day, I realized. The last interesting site I decided to see that day was the Krupskaya House of Culture. The Krupskaya House of Culture has a book fair which deserves its own story. The banner above the entrance reads "Long live the Book Fair!"
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| Smartphone | Google Pixel 3a |
| Location | Saint Petersburg, Russia |
This is my entry for the #WednesdayWalk challenge by 