The income house for merchant Rafail Bershtein was built in 1910–1911. The building’s project was designed by the famous St. Petersburg architect Dmitry Andreevich Kryzhanovsky. It is known that the architect constructed more than sixty residential buildings, religious structures, medical institutions, and industrial facilities only in the Northern capital.

The majestic building stands out among its neighbors with a large formal courtyard (such spaces are called cour d'honneur) and a powerful corner tower with a spire. Interestingly, this structure might never have appeared here: the original project by architect Kryzhanovsky did not include the construction of the tower.

This large income house was designed and built in the spirit of the advanced hygienic trends of the early 20th century — with a spacious open courtyard that contributed to improved sunlight exposure and ventilation of the apartments. The courtyard is separated from the street by a high metal fence with gates.

The plasticity of the facade walls is enriched with bay windows and balconies. Contrasting materials are used in the decoration — rough plaster and granite of various tones and textures. The faceted corner part is crowned with a complex roof featuring a belvedere lantern and a tall spire — thus creating the image of a corner tower. The house’s decoration clearly shows traits of Northern Art Nouveau, however, the deep portal leading to the main staircase is executed in the form of a classicist coffered exedra.

Inside, metal stair railings, stucco, colored stained glass, and floor tiles reminiscent of a bright oriental carpet have been preserved. The architect Dmitry Kryzhanovsky, who designed and built the house, settled in one of its apartments — as if striving to personally test the quality of the construction.

The powerful faceted tower on the corner was topped with a tent roof and a lantern with a spire. The tower’s pinnacle burned down a few years ago and has now been restored. The building’s decoration uses gray and pinkish-gray granite. The facade of the house is laid with rock-textured slabs up to the height of two floors. The portals of the house are made of the same granite, but unlike the facade, they are smoothly finished and decorated with carved reliefs. The house was awarded a silver medal at the 1912 facade competition.

Stylistically, the house is close to Northern Art Nouveau and German architecture. The cour d'honneur opens onto Professor Popov Street.

Sources:

https://www.citywalls.ru/house5539.html

https://xn--c1acndtdamdoc1ib.xn--p1ai/kuda-shodit/mesta/dom-r-i-bershteyna/

https://4traveler.me/travel/sankt-peterburg/dokhodnyy-dom-r-i-bershteyna