Revenue house classics: another one of Ushakov’s designs gets the architectural landmark status

The number of old buildings with special protected status is growing in Moscow. The former revenue house at 5 Prosvirin Pereulok is now also in the Cultural Heritage Sites Registry. No the house is government-protected: it can’t be demolished, its original appearance can’t be changed, and any works there (be it repairs or restoration) are only allowed under supervision by the Moscow Department of Cultural Heritage.

The three-storey building was erected in the early 20th century. Moscow merchant Nikolai Pichugin ordered the construction. Architect Pyotr Ushakov, who got famous building revenue houses in Moscow, made the design. Many of Ushakov’s creations are now architectural landmarks.

The house preserved its spatial solutions, basic planning and structure to this day. It’s main façade with eclectic decor is symmetrical in composition. The façade features window casings, offsets under windows, abutments, an avant-corps with dome pediment, plaster mouldings, string cornices, denticles, floor and roof cornices. Stairs and the roof also survived from the early 20th century.

“This is an example of well-preserved revenue houses located around small alleys at Sretenka. Thanks to historical, cultural and field research conducted, we can now confidently say that the building has a lot of historical and cultural significance. Right now, it’s in a sorry state, requiring a comprehensive preservation effort. The cultural heritage site status makes it eligible for the 1 ruble per 1 square meter preferential lease program. That, in turn, will help us find an investor who would restore the house to its original look,” said Alexey Yemelyanov, Head of the Moscow Department of Cultural Heritage.

As he pointed out, right now, the building stays vacant.

According to Moscow Government Minister, Head of Municipal Property Department Maxim Gaman, the cultural heritage site is currently being prepared for market evaluation and subsequent tender.

“After we get the market evaluation report, the Department will submit all the documents for the bid campaign. In the third quarter of 2022, the building will be put out for tender under the 1 ruble per 1 square meter program,” Maxim Gaman commented.

The winning bidder will sign a 49 years lease with the city; in the first five years they will have to restore the building to its original look. After that, the investor may switch to the preferential lease rate (one ruble per one square meter per annum, and start doing business.

Maxim Gaman added that the 1 ruble per 1 square meter program has already covered 35 cultural heritage sites since 2012. The restoration is already over at 20 sites, 19 of which have switched to the preferential rate.

The revenue house was designed by Pyotr Ushakov in 1899. The construction was supposed to take place in Prosvirin Pereulok, across the entire width of merchant Pichugin’s property. It was a three-storey building with semi-circular bay windows on the backyard façade. The entrance was in the middle of the house; further in toward the backyard façade, was the only staircase. A rectangular passage leading to the backyard was to the right of the entrance.

There were two apartments on the first floor: a tiny first one, comprising of an entryway, one room and a kitchen, and the other, just like all the rest: three rooms and a kitchen. The second and the third floors also had two apartments each.

They were used for communal living in Soviet times. During that time, a metal staircase was mounted on the façade from the courtyard side. In the 1990s, the apartments turned into offices.

Pyotr Ushakov (1861–1943) graduated from Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture; in 1892 he was awarded a class architecture artist distinction. In 1901, Ushakov became the architect for the Moscow Board of Trustees for the Poor Committee.

He designed the mansion in Vishnyakovsky Pereulok (number 23), the printing house at Zhukovskogo Street (number 4), the vestiary of the Church of the Renewal of the Temple of the Resurrection at Vagankovo Cemetery (15 Sergeya Makeeva Street), the eye clinic in Protopopovsky Pereulok (number 25).
 Ushakov was the architect of multiple revenue houses in Moscow, such as: 1 Sretenka Street, 5 Prosvirin Pereulok, 18 Bolshaya Ordynka, 11 Kolokolnikov Pereulok, 9 Pozharsky Pereulok, 13 Ulansky Pereulok, 12 Mashkova Street.