GUEST HOUSE

GUEST HOUSE (Gostiny Dvor), an architectural monument of the middle 19th – early 20th century located in Ufa (1, Verkhnetorgovaya square). It was built between 1825– 67 as a project of a St. Petersburg architect A.I.Melnikov. It is a single storey stone building made in the style of classicism. Thanks to its location, the symmetrical construction became an artistic composition in the center of the Verkhnetorgovaya square. It was rectangular in shape and had 56 external and internal places for trade. The center also had a warehouse. On the facades of each of the four sides, there was an open gallery with arched apertures. In 1942, the building housed the equipment of spinning and weaving factories evacuated from Moscow and Smolensk regions during the war and then a cotton factory was later established in it. The conversion project was completed by eng. D.I.Smetannikov. After the plant moved to another location (1985) the building was no longer occupied and later, was partially destroyed. Between 1995–2000, its reconstruction was carried out (by architects S.A.Goldobin, S.B. Goldobina and A.V.Davydenko). Now the complex is a one story gallery type building with commercial premises located along the perimeter and it has a complex multi level atrium.