In 2004, under Luzhkov, the Moscow Hotel on Manezhnaya Square was demolished for vague reasons. This action was called "reconstruction" by the Moscow authorities. The official version of the reasons for the demolition was an allegedly outdated planning solution (the hotel rooms were too small and did not meet "modern standards") and the alleged impossibility of reconstruction without the complete demolition of the building. Any architect, even a beginner, will tell you right away that this is complete nonsense. It was possible to simply solve the problem by simply combining two or three rooms into one without any damage to the building structures. The point is that this "problem" was not the real reason for the dismantling. According to the professor of Moscow Architectural Institute Vyacheslav Glazychev, the purpose of the "reconstruction" was theft, since there were no objective reasons for the demolition of such a gigantic building in the very center of Moscow, built only in the early 30s of the XX century, the structures of which were in satisfactory condition and could serve steadily for another hundred years. Indeed, in the process of "reconstruction" unidentified persons stole more than $ 87 million allocated from the city budget. But, I must say that in the scale of such a gigantic construction project (more than 185,000 m2) and, given the complexity of the finishing work, the amount of the stolen funds is not so egregious. The very fact of theft is, but the amount on the scale of construction is not. It does not exceed 10% of the total costs, and purely technical justification of such cost overruns is not a big deal for experienced "builders".
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The Moscow Hotel is located on the site where the Neglinka River flowed back in the 19th century. Now she is enclosed in an underground sewer. However, throughout the 19th century, flooding of this area with flood waters occurred regularly, and only hydrotechnical structures of the 20th century made it possible to finally stabilize the groundwater level in this area throughout the year. The quarter with the "Grand Hotel", on the site of which the Moscow hotel was built in the 30s, was located on the site where the very bed of the Neglinka once passed. At one time, to strengthen the swampy soil, a pile field of oak piles was made here. Huge trunks were driven into damp ground and, thanks to the property of oak to gain strength when submerged in water, the soil on this site was stabilized, which made it possible to begin capital development on it in the 19th century.
(Construction of the Okhotny Ryad shopping and entertainment center. Archival photo)
In 1995, Yuri Mikhailovich Luzhkov started a grandiose construction on Manezhnaya Square - the Okhotny Ryad shopping center, a complex that goes underground on several levels, with a lower tier depth of more than 18 meters from the surface. The construction of one of the largest underground shopping and entertainment centers in Europe, with an area of 63,000 m2, was completed in record time: everything took two years to complete. Even at the beginning of the exploration work, many experts voiced the danger of digging such a huge "hole" in the historical center of Moscow, however, a quick examination commissioned by the Moscow government showed that the historical buildings located next to the construction site are not in danger. But back in 2002, from the mouth of one honored academician of architectural and construction sciences, I heard a forecast made by him in a private conversation that if the Moscow hotel is not demolished in the near future, it will soon begin to fall apart …
During this period, in the immediate vicinity of Manezhnaya Square, the massive 22-storey hotel complex Intourist on Tverskaya Street was dismantled, on the site of which the Ritz-Carlton Moscow hotel was subsequently erected with half the number of storeys.
According to the academician, this was only the first swallow, which should be followed by the "already condemned" hotel Moscow …
I then immediately recalled the recent (at that time) events in New York - the terrorist attack on the Twin Towers. After their collapse, a day later, several more massive multi-storey buildings collapsed in the adjacent business districts.
(Square of the 50th anniversary of October (now: Manezhnaya Square). Archival photo. On the right you can see the Moscow hotel, on the left - the high-rise building of the Intourist hotel)
As a result of the construction of an underground shopping center, the groundwater level in the area of Manezhnaya Square was artificially significantly lowered in order to prevent flooding of the foundation pit. And the oak pile field under the foundation of the Moscow hotel turned out to be drained. The wooden piles began to rot. This process could take a long time, but its first manifestations were to be expected in 10-15 years - subsidence of foundations, cracks in the walls, etc. But then the result of an engineering error would have already become obvious. And given the concerns expressed by experts, one could speak not of a mistake, but of deliberately admitted negligence or even a deliberate sabotage. Therefore, 7 years after the construction of the Okhotny Ryad shopping center, the Moscow hotel was subject to dismantling for a ridiculous and obviously far-fetched reason. The academician's prediction came true before our eyes. During the reconstruction, the traces of "sabotage" were thoroughly cleaned up - so a gigantic multi-level parking lot appeared under the new building.
In the same 2004, the Manege building "unexpectedly" burned down. These were the two massive capital buildings located closest to the Okhotny Ryad shopping center. Both are architectural monuments.
(Fire in the Manege building. Archival photo)
(Completely burnt-out Manege building. Archival photo)
According to the official version, the fire started on the roof as a result of a short circuit and within 15-20 minutes covered an area of 9,000 m2, as a result of which the building was completely burnt out. However, the chairman of the Moscow Committee for Culture, Sergei Khudyakov, then told the Interfax news agency that there was no wiring or electrical appliances on the roof of the Manezh. The very next day after the fire, Luzhkov spoke on a Moscow TV channel, presenting to the public a project for the reconstruction of the Manezh building in a new "modern" way. There were drawings, plans, sections and even a layout with landscaping. And, of course, a new, “saving” underground level appeared under the renovated building. But was this voluminous design work done in just one post-fire night !?
(Manezhnaya Square. Space survey 2003)
P. S.
In 2005, I designed a Moscow apartment for a gallery owner. It contains in Germany a private museum of Soviet photography from the 1920s and 1930s and constructivist art. Lives in three countries: Russia - Germany - USA. Rich man. That still "beetle" - will never miss his. As a collector, he was extremely interested in the contents of the interiors of the former Moscow hotel (Stalinist Empire style). He turned on all his connections in order to try to reach out to those from whom these objects could be purchased - chandeliers, doors, furniture, dishes, paintings (in each hotel room and in the corridors there were several paintings in the style of Soviet realism); in a word, he was interested in absolutely everything. I remember how he told me with undisguised annoyance and great surprise that he could not find any ends, not even a hint of who ultimately ended up with all these objects. Everything that is now in the interiors of the remake is cheap Turkish crafts made of shit and plastic. Since then, these items have not surfaced at any auction or in any private collection.
