Tuchkov Buyan (from the archaic word "buyan" — a river pier; a place for unloading goods from ships), in the 19th century was mistakenly called the "Biron Palace" — the former hemp warehouse building, constructed in 1763–1772 on the eponymous islet in the channel of the Malaya Neva, a monument of early classical St. Petersburg architecture. At the beginning of the 20th century, the channels between Buyan, the neighboring unnamed islets, and Petrogradsky Island were filled in, and the name "Tuchkov Buyan" passed to the new urban territory, bounded by the modern Dobrolyubov Avenue to the north, Tuchkova Dam Street and Tuchkov Bridge to the west, Academician Likhachyov Square and the Birzhevoy Bridge to the east, and the Malaya Neva to the south. The extensive block, which was planned to include Vatny Island as well, was intended to become a museum and exhibition complex; this project did not materialize due to the outbreak of World War I.
In the 21st century, in the western part of Tuchkov Buyan, near the historic hemp warehouses, are located the "Yubileyny" sports complex and the "Sportivnaya" metro station.
Tuchkov Bridge and Tuchkova Embankment, a mid-19th century painting. On the right, across the river, the western warehouse building and the hemp Buyan weigh house are visible.
The islet in the channel of the Malaya Neva, later named Tuchkov Buyan, emerged after the flood of 1726. Soon a pier was arranged on the islet, and in 1735 — warehouses for hemp. In the mid-18th century, the area received its name from Avraam Tuchkov — the builder of the first bridge connecting Vasilievsky Island with Petrogradsky Island. On June 29, 1761, the wooden buildings from the time of Anna Ioannovna burned down, and in 1763–1772, military engineer Dyakov built a stone Buyan building on their site based on a design by Dedenev, revised by Rinaldi. In the same years, very close to the Buyan, Dyakov built the Prince Vladimir Cathedral according to Rinaldi's design (https://reveal.world/story/knyaz-vladimirskij-sobor).
The facade of the Buyan facing Vasilievsky Island is strictly symmetrical. In the center is a compact two-story volume of the weigh house (weight office), to the left and right of it are four-story warehouse buildings connected to the weigh house by covered galleries. According to the design, the warehouses were two-storied; only during construction was each planned floor divided into two. From the north, on the side of Petrogradsky Island, the weigh house adjoined a now lost two-story, squat building of the shofa — premises for sorting flax and hemp.
The Buyan building is painted yellow. It is associated with a curious episode in 1904: artists working in the studios of the Academy on Tuchkova Embankment actively protested against painting the weathered Buyan. Kuindzhi, Klodt, and others proposed "to paint it not yellow, but gray, as it disturbs us too much with its yellow color and gives a yellow reflex in our art studios, which is inconvenient for painting…".
Until the revolutions of 1917, the Buyan was under the jurisdiction of port services (initially imperial, in the 20th century municipal) and was used as a warehouse as intended; however, both among the public and among architects and city officials, the mistaken name "Biron Palace" stuck to it. Only in 1908 did Fomin, relying on the opinions of Benois and Kotov, refute the legend in "Old Years." Fomin mistakenly dated the building to the era of Anna Ioannovna; this misconception was disproved in the 1910s.
Until the end of the 19th century, the chain of islets between Tuchkov Buyan and the Birzhevoy Bridge was not regulated; the outlines of the islets on maps of the 18th–19th centuries continuously changed, and the territory of Vatny Island was formed only by 1858. The shoreline of Petrogradsky Island had a natural, irregular shape. The swampy area to the north of it was called Mokrushi. In the 1840s, Alexandrovsky and Petrovsky parks were laid out here, and in the 1860s, Alexandrovsky Avenue (now Dobrolyubov Avenue) was laid along the shore of the channel. In the following decade, active development of Mokrushi began on the northern side of the avenue; in 1880, Alexander II approved a plan to unite the small islets with Petrogradsky Island. On the new urban territory, south of Alexandrovsky Avenue, four regular-shaped blocks were to appear.
The 1880 project was not implemented. On three islets near Tuchkov Buyan, the city placed a nursery for ornamental plants; on Vatny Island in 1896–1897, according to Marfeld's project, "red barns" of the state wine warehouse and vodka factory were built. Kurbatov, who considered the green islets on the Malaya Neva "one of the most pleasant places in Petersburg," wrote that their "view … is spoiled by the wooden Birzhevoy Bridge and the wine factory." In 1902–1905, the city expanded the dam of Tuchkov Bridge, reliably connecting Tuchkov Buyan with Petrogradsky Island; in 1908, Nicholas II approved the second official project for the expansion of Petrogradsky Island. By 1911, the channels between Tuchkov Buyan, the islets adjoining it from the east, and Petrogradsky Island were filled in; only Vatny Island remained isolated — the "fortress" of the state wine monopoly. On maps from the time of World War I, the entire new territory of Petrogradsky Island is occupied by the city nursery; active development began here only in the mid-20th century.
Ivan Fomin, 1913. Competition project for a museum and exhibition center on Tuchkov Buyan. View from Tuchkov Bridge towards the Peter and Paul Fortress. At the bottom right is the hemp Buyan building, on the left Alexandrovsky Avenue with the passage to the Vladimir Cathedral.
At the beginning of the 20th century, a new cultural center of the city was forming on the south of the Petrograd side, oriented towards the masses. Until 1897, the first St. Petersburg zoo operated on the territory of Alexandrovsky Park; in 1899–1900, the first phase of the People's House was built. In Petrovsky Park, which since 1899 was at the disposal of the Temperance Society, a theater, carousels, and a boat station were built. It is no coincidence that the new territories located between Alexandrovsky and Petrovsky parks were considered as public, popular spaces.
During preparations for the bicentennial celebration of Petersburg, proposals were repeatedly made to arrange a city museum in the "Biron Palace." In 1904, Tarasov proposed placing the city archive there. In 1905, Tarkhanov suggested creating a public-sports center; in 1906, Repin requested to allocate the Buyan building for a permanent art exhibition. Then, as the channels were filled and the territory expanded, city authorities and the public engaged in projects to arrange the "new" Tuchkov Buyan — from Tuchkov to Birzhevoy Bridge. The fate of the "old" Buyan, built by Dyakov and Rinaldi, was yet to be decided: the city seriously considered demolishing it to build a new museum and exhibition complex. Debates about demolition or preservation of the Buyan continued at least until 1915.
Active research on the new territories began around 1911–1912 in connection with plans to hold two all-Russian exhibitions in Petersburg. In 1912, the Petersburg Society of Architects, on behalf of city authorities, held the first open competition for exhibition complex projects; according to its conditions, the "Biron Palace" was to be preserved and adapted as a museum. In 1913, a second, closed competition took place between the projects of Dubinsky (winner of the 1912 competition), Munz, and Fomin. This time, architects were given the right to independently decide the fate of the Buyan, up to its complete demolition. Fomin preserved the main facade of the Buyan in his project; Dubinsky and Munz decided to get rid of it entirely. Munz wrote that the building was completely unsuitable for a museum, its reconstruction was unjustified, and its artistic value was exaggerated: "it is merely a barn, which only accidentally, or perhaps with a view to a very distant viewer, was given the appearance of a palace. The building is constructed very solidly, but crudely in details…".
With the outbreak of World War I, holding the all-Russian exhibitions became impossible, but the city continued to search for planning solutions. However, by 1915, the opinion of the architectural community shifted towards preserving historical buildings. Lidval, Belogrud, and others proposed abandoning the public center on Tuchkov Buyan altogether, moving it westward to Petrovsky Island. This approach was implemented, starting with the construction of the stadium in the 1920s.
Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuchkov_Buyan
