The story of how trams used to pass through the house

The center of St. Petersburg is full of amazing discoveries. Even the most famous and well-known buildings can surprise you when you start to take an interest in their history. The building was constructed in 1851 and is known to everyone without exception. It has a complex geometry, with many streets behind it. This is the modern hotel "Oktyabrskaya," located opposite the Moscow Railway Station, near the metro entrance. Its full name is "Income House Essen-Stenbock-Fermor - Hotel 'Oktyabrskaya.'"

To connect with Ligovsky Prospect and 1st Sovetskaya Street (formerly 1st Rozhdestvenskaya), there were two arches. Then it was decided to run a tram along the street that goes behind the building. It was possible to run it, but how to get to the square? The answer was found — to make arches. And so the tram route went right through the building straight onto Ligovsky Prospect, almost to Nevsky, near Vosstaniya Square. The tram at that time was steam-powered. It caused considerable problems for the hotel guests — imagine the constantly bustling, noisy, and smoky trains going back and forth. I think the situation was especially delicate for those guests who lived near or directly above the arch. A little later, the tram was removed from there, and the tracks were taken up as well. This is clearly visible in a photograph taken in the mid-1920s — the arch remains, but there are no tram tracks in it.

By the way, take a look at the incredible hustle and bustle at Vosstaniya Square at that time.

On the 1909 map, it is clearly visible how the tram ran around Znamenskaya Square (now Vosstaniya Square). One of the steam tram routes ended beyond Nevskaya Zastava, in the village of Murzinka, and started right at Znamenskaya Square, near the income house of Baron Frederiks (Vladimirsky Prospect, 15).

And in 1930, rails were laid through the arch again, but only temporarily — for the duration of the reconstruction of the main tram hub at Vosstaniya Square.

This is what the process looked like from 1st Sovetskaya Street. The photo was taken on July 4, 1930.

Apparently, the tram’s second arrival into the belly of the "Oktyabrskaya" hotel was very short-lived — the tracks were removed again in 1931. Unfortunately, there is no exact information on the dates, but the reconstruction of Vosstaniya Square was completed at that time. The arches themselves were bricked up in the 1950s.

It was here that the largest "Bukvoed" bookstore in St. Petersburg was located — a bookshop where many people spent time before their train from Moscow Railway Station or waited for arrivals.

Sources:

Yandex.Zen channel "Peterburgerka"

https://m.ok.ru/group/70000000393562/topic/155097090580570

https://dzen.ru/a/Y6tTV7_NJy2Qpaxe