Amazing Architect Rossi Street

In Saint Petersburg, there is a beautiful and remarkable street called Zodchego Rossi, where two completely identical yellow buildings stand opposite each other, reflecting as if in a mirror. Zodchego Rossi Street runs from the Alexandrinsky Theatre to Lomonosov Square. Its uniqueness lies in the fact that the development was carried out in exact accordance with ancient canons — the height of the buildings equals the width of the street and is 22 meters, while its length is exactly ten times greater — 220 meters.

In contrast to the lavish and majestic appearance of the Alexandrinsky Theatre, the facades of the two three-story buildings look more modest. Along their entire length, they are decorated with white paired Doric order half-columns, between which are large windows with semicircular tops and relief ornamentation.

Here is what the poetess Svetlana Iteshina writes about this corner of the Northern capital:

Both sides of the street are like twins.

You won’t find differences — no matter how hard you look!

Arcades and windows, columns in a row,

Here in the foggy night they gaze into the quiet dusk.

I love this street — though it is short.

Its grandeur lies only in these two houses.

But if you walk along Rossi Street,

You will never forget... And will come again.

In the mid-18th century, the area was occupied by outbuildings and gardens of the Vorontsov Palace and Anichkov Palace. At the end of the 18th century, part of the territory was sold to private individuals for development. Design work for the reconstruction of the district began in 1816 by the Committee for Buildings and Hydraulic Works. In 1827, a special commission under His Imperial Majesty’s Cabinet conducted an assessment of the plots.

In 1816, Alexander I entrusted the chairman of the Committee for Buildings and Hydraulic Works, A. Betancourt, with the reconstruction of the Anichkov Palace estate. Architects Modoui and Rossi, who were employed by the Committee for Buildings, were involved in the design. Both architects presented their versions of the reconstruction of the Anichkov Palace estate along with a complete replanning of the entire surrounding area from Anichkov Palace to Sadovaya Street. Alexander I approved the reconstruction project presented by Modoui, but the implementation of Modoui’s proposed reconstruction plan was entrusted to Rossi.

On November 27, 1832, by decree of Nicholas I, the street was named Novaya Teatralnaya (New Theatre Street), since the Alexandrinsky Theatre, which had just been built, began there. In 1849, the street was no longer very new and was simply called Teatralnaya (Theatre Street). On October 6, 1923, in honor of its creator, it received its current name.

Under a unified facade on the odd-numbered side are houses No. 1 and 3, and on the even side — houses No. 2, 4, and 6. House No. 1/3 was planned to accommodate military educational institutions, but eventually the Ministry of Public Education and Internal Affairs settled here, and now various organizations and agencies are located there. House No. 2 was built as a revenue house, and already in 1832 an advertisement was published in the newspaper "Severnaya Pchela" offering apartments and shops for rent there. On the second and third floors were living rooms, while the first floors of the buildings were continuous galleries housing shops and stores selling goods from glass, paper, and porcelain factories. Soon, merchants of Gostiny Dvor appealed to Nicholas I with a request to protect them from competition, and in 1835 the emperor decided to place a ballet school in the building. According to the architect Kavos’s project, the arcades of the first floors on both sides of the street were bricked up, the arches were converted into windows, and in 1836 the Imperial Theatre School was established here, which was graduated by Anna Pavlova and Mikhail Fokin, Agrippina Vaganova, and many other talented artists.

 Interesting facts about the street:

Zodchego Rossi Street is the shortest by the number of houses in the Northern capital, with two buildings (five houses — No. 1, 3, and 5 on one side and No. 2 and 4 on the other). The shortest street in the Northern capital by length is Malaya Sadovaya, which is 179 meters long.

When it rains in the Northern capital, the twin houses are reflected in puddles, and we see four identical houses — an amazing sight!

During 1941–1945, house No. 2 housed the headquarters of the Leningrad Military District, for which a concrete bunker was built in the basement.

Sources:

https://www.spb-guide.ru/page_12819.htm

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