House of N. A. Meltzer

The boundaries of the plot of house No. 19 on Bolshaya Konyushennaya Street (No. 8 on Volynsky Lane) were established in the 19th century. In 1849, it was owned by the furniture manufacturer Tur. Architect Bonstedt created a project for a new building in the Neo-Renaissance style for him, but it was not realized. Later, the furniture workshop "F. Meltzer & Co." operated here. When the workshop moved to premises on the Karpovka Embankment, in the 1880s the site was occupied by the workshops of the firm and the art bronze shop "N. Shtange" — a supplier to the imperial court. It was headed by A. Meltzer. A relative of the head of the firm was architect R. F. Meltzer, the artistic director of the famous furniture firm "F. Meltzer & Co."

In 1904, the plot on Bolshaya Konyushennaya and Volynsky Lane passed to Nikolai Meltzer by a gift deed from his mother Maria Nikolaevna. “At this time, all previous buildings were demolished, and it was decided to build a modern revenue house on the expensive and prestigious plot. The already well-established architect of Swedish nationality Lidval was engaged for the construction. The house was completed in 1905, according to archival records. In 1907, the commission for awarding prizes for the best facades awarded Lidval a silver medal for the facade of the Meltzer house.”

The house is located at the intersection of Bolshaya Konyushennaya Street (short wing) and Volynsky Lane (long wing). Lidval based his facade decoration decisions on the surrounding environment. The facade facing the narrow Volynsky Lane is decorated quite modestly. Its walls are rough, dark, with prominent light bay windows of various heights and shapes, and a contrasting band delimiting the top floor. The main entrance to the house is accentuated by a stone portal. The base of the house is finished with silicate brick — here Lidval used a new material that was just beginning to be used in Petersburg. The architect decorated the facade with details characteristic of Classicism — wreaths, cartouches, garlands. The corner part of the building looks impressive and dynamic in the perspective of the intersection of the two streets. The two lower floors are pierced by display windows: originally, Kodak shops, a company selling automobiles, and office premises were located here. The facades gain dynamics from windows of various shapes and sizes, diverse surface finishes working on contrast — smooth facing stone alternates with rough, some surfaces treated with granular plaster. The facing material for the Meltzer house was supplied by the Finnish joint-stock company for the development of potstone, located in Wilmanstrand.

The corner bay window of house No. 19 originally had a two-tier tower. Its upper tier was later lost. The windows of the first two floors, intended for shops and offices, are made as large display windows. The facade of the building along Volynsky Lane looks simpler compared to the facade on Bolshaya Konyushennaya. On the lane side, the portals bear the date: "MCMV" (1905).

The equipment of the Meltzer house premises was carried out in the best possible way. The heating system was designed by civil engineer Banige.

The largest apartments in the house were corner ones and consisted of 14 rooms. There were only three apartments: on the third, fourth, and fifth floors. The homeowners lived in the corner apartment No. 4 on the top fifth floor. On the corner part of the house and on the Bolshaya Konyushennaya side, two of the five floors were allocated for commercial use. The interior of the house used the most advanced technologies: elevators, steam heating, although apparently wood stoves were also installed as a backup; fireplaces were installed in the corner apartments, one of which was a buffet fireplace, found only in this house. Some rooms in the apartments were connected by sliding pocket doors, rare for Petersburg, and the windows of the courtyard bay windows were filled with patterned textured glass. The apartments had well-equipped bathrooms with ceramic bathtubs and all necessary plumbing.

The decoration of the main staircase has survived to this day.

Before the revolution, the first floor housed the office and store of the "Kodak" firm. Next to them, in the 1910s, there was a car sales company and other commercial enterprises.

In the 1920s, the State Trust of Leningrad Metalworking Mass Production Plants "TREMASS" was located here. At that time, the future composer and conductor Marsel lived in house No. 19/8. From 1929 until his death in 1939, the artist Rylov lived here. In Soviet times, his paintings "Green Noise," "In the Blue Expanse" were popular. In his apartment on Bolshaya Konyushennaya (then Zhelyabova) Street, he painted works such as "V. I. Lenin in Razliv," "Tractor in Logging," "Industrial Lights on the Volga." Rylov taught at the Academy of Arts and in 1935 was awarded the title of Honored Artist of the RSFSR. In 1985, a memorial plaque dedicated to the artist Rylov was installed on the facade of the building.

Sources:

https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meltzer_Revenue_House

https://www.citywalls.ru/house1063.html

https://walkspb.ru/istoriya-peterburga/zd/bol-konush19