Originally, on the plot of land on Sadovaya Street between the Fontanka River and the Krivusha River in the 1730s, it was planned to build the Naval Regiment Yard. According to the plan of the Commission on the Construction of Saint Petersburg, barracks and administrative buildings of the Naval Department were supposed to be located there. However, the plan was never realized.

The history of the Nikolsky Market is directly connected with the history of Kolomna. At that time, the area around the Kryukov Canal began to be settled by merchants who owned not only the trading establishments of the time—shops, warehouses, and depots—but also income-generating houses located on the embankment. In 1787, the merchants of Kolomna wished to "build shops with galleries on Kryukov Canal modeled after the old guest yards of Saint Petersburg and the trading provincial Russian towns." However, the merchants' proposal was rejected, and a standard project was approved, which involved constructing a two-story commercial building with rooms 4 meters wide, separated by solid stone walls. On October 29, 1787, a building project (author unknown), which has not survived to this day, was submitted to the City Duma. The location was considered convenient due to its proximity to two water transport arteries: the Catherine and Kryukov Canals. The project was approved by Catherine II.

Construction began on the plot located on Kryukov Canal, near the Fontanka and Catherine Canals. Due to the market’s proximity to navigable waterways, it later became not only a retail but also a wholesale market. By modern standards, the market was built quickly—in just one year. No state treasury funds were used in the construction; the Nikolsky Market was built with private funds from merchants.

Interestingly, for the first 36 years of its existence, from 1789 to 1825, the market was called the Ochakovsky Market, because the completion of its construction coincided with the date of Suvorov’s troops capturing the city of Ochakov. In 1825, the building burned down but was restored fairly quickly. It was then that the market received the name Nikolsky, after its nearest "neighbor"—the Nikolsky Naval Cathedral.

Of course, at the Nikolsky Market, one could buy meat, vegetables, and fish, which was delivered directly from the water to the so-called "herring row." The market also traded in pottery and hardware goods, firewood, and building materials, with trade taking place on barges, shallops, and large boats moored along the canal banks. However, the place gained special fame as an unofficial labor exchange. Until the abolition of serfdom, opposite the Nikolsky Market, where Sadovaya Street merges with the Griboedov Canal embankment and where a picturesque green boulevard now stands, there was a dusty square where serfs were traded. Later, by the late 19th century, this place became a meeting point for hired workers with their future employers and clients. It was also where janitors or domestic servants were hired.

Historians speculate that this is why, in the 1880s, the "gluttonous row" moved to the Nikolsky Market from Sennaya Square. On a small area with 12-15 tables, ready hot food was sold for the poorest segments of the population—the clients of the seasonal labor exchange.

Saint Petersburg journalist A.A. Bakhtiarov described the life of the Nikolsky Market and the labor exchange in 1895.

According to his data, up to 50,000 people came to the capital for summer work, mostly peasants from the interior provinces of Russia. Those who did not immediately find work went to hire themselves out at Nikolskaya Square.

It was the hired laborers, as well as the poor of the capital, who were the main visitors of the gluttonous row. Lunch at the gluttonous row cost 5 kopecks (equivalent to 87-88 modern Russian rubles), while a laborer could earn up to 40 kopecks (or 700 rubles) per day at that time. The meal consisted of bread for 2 kopecks (35 modern rubles) and shchekovina (a type of meat) with broth for 3 kopecks (about 50-52 rubles). Trade at the gluttonous row began early in the morning at 6 a.m. and ended by 10 p.m., with peak attendance during lunch and at 8 p.m.

And although the trade at the gluttonous row was called "kopeck-priced," the average daily revenue of one such catering point was about 10 rubles (about 17,500 modern rubles), and the entire gluttonous row, consisting of 10 trading points, traded in Saint Petersburg for about 100 rubles (equivalent to 175,000 modern rubles). If bread sales are included, the revenue was about 125-130 rubles (approximately 219,000 – 227,500 Russian rubles) daily.

The idea of rebuilding the market was first considered not at the end but at the beginning of the 20th century. In 1910, architects L.N. Benois, M.M. Peretyatkovich, and transport engineer F.E. Yenakiev created a project to transform the city center, which included the historic buildings of the Nikolsky Market. It was planned to turn the site of the Kryukov Canal into a city boulevard avenue, and the market itself was to be completely rebuilt and modernized. This project was rejected by the Duma by a majority vote.

In any case, even if the market had been rebuilt then, history would have influenced its existence. In the first post-revolutionary years, there was a fight against private trade, and markets were closed as hotbeds of speculation.

In the early 1930s, the market lost its trading function; the building was occupied by two state enterprises: "MetallShtamp" and "EmalPosuda." At that time, the first repair works began (entrances from the street were bricked up, communication networks were laid in the basements), which led to a complete blockade of the construction sections and disruption of the previously planned natural ventilation of the premises. But the greatest damage to the buildings was caused after the post-war period when another enterprise, "Metalloposuda," occupied the Nikolsky Market premises. After its departure from the market territory in the 1990s, experts assessed the damage done to the structure. The newspaper "Nevskoe Vremya" wrote that the wear of the building’s metal structures was almost 100%. "The main destruction was caused by vapors from abandoned glass canisters with acids, many of which were broken. The condition of the building was not improved by the abandoned electroplating production occupying about 200 square meters, a treatment settling tank, and 15-ton fuel oil tanks." All this happened despite the fact that the former Nikolsky Market was first taken under state protection back in 1960. The question arose about the market’s further fate.

Attempts were made to restore the building’s trading function by placing small shops and warehouses on the territory, but this was a temporary measure, and since 2007 the Nikolsky Market area has been closed for reconstruction. The reconstruction project of the "Nikolsky Rows" complex, which envisaged restoring the market according to historical drawings, was developed by the architectural bureau "Liteynaya Part — 91" led by Rafael Dayanov. Several sections of the historic building were preserved, part of the first-floor decoration, and some of the plaster moldings partially survived. However, due to serious damage, almost nothing remained of the building’s interior decoration.

The reconstruction lasted almost 8 years and was completed in 2018. The investment volume in the project amounted to about 3 billion rubles. The restoration project received a diploma in the category "Restoration Object of the Year" at the "Petersburg and Petersburgers – 2018" ceremony. The main part of the building was occupied by two hotels: Holiday Inn Express and the hybrid hotel Meininger. Also, the Hard Rock Cafe restaurant was opened on the complex’s territory—the first in Saint Petersburg and the second in Russia.

After the restoration was completed, the idea arose to use the inner courtyard of the "Nikolsky Rows," with an area of more than 7,000 m², to implement a "creative project of citywide scale, interesting both for Petersburg residents and tourists." On July 8, 2020, the courtyard was opened as a public space for everyone. In the first three months after opening, more than 250,000 residents and visitors of the city became guests of the Nikolsky Rows courtyard: numerous entertainment and cultural events were held for them.

Sources:

https://www.sadovaya-hotel.ru/ru/news/272

https://www.kvartira78.ru/blog/rynki/

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

https://www.citywalls.ru/house2160.html