Bolshaya Morskaya St., 58, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 190000
Until 1862, the German Reformed community held services in the building of the French Reformed Church on Bolshaya Konyushennaya Street. However, the number of parishioners grew, and soon there was a need to build a separate church. The heads of the community appealed to the city authorities, and in 1862, by the highest decree, a plot of land was granted free of charge to the German Reformed community at the intersection of Bolshaya Morskaya Street, the Moika River embankment, and Pochtamtsky Lane.
According to the project by architect Bosse, the church was built by Grimm between 1862 and 1865. The church construction committee was headed by Pastor Herman Dalton. In the decoration of Reformed church buildings, only those items permitted by the Bible were allowed. The architect deliberately tried to harmonize the building’s decor with the spirit of the Reformed doctrine, which was quite restrained towards the plastic arts. The building, made of red brick with white details and a tall two-tier bell tower, is designed in the Romanesque style. In St. Petersburg, this building was one of the first constructions with brick finishing.
The church building also housed the pastor’s family residence. Pastor Dalton supervised a school for children of the Reformed faith, established by Johann von Murald.
The church was consecrated on November 24 [5], 1865. On the first floor of the building were the school and the pastor’s apartment; on the second floor was the church itself, with large stained-glass windows from the Riga workshop of E. Beyerman and an organ. One of the first pastors was Herman Dalton.
As the local press wrote: “On December 14 of last year, the Reformed Church in St. Petersburg burned down — one of the best examples of our brick architecture. The exact cause of the fire has not yet been determined. On the eve of the fire, in the presence of the fire brigade, all the pipes in the church were burned out and cleaned, so there is a rumor in the city that the fire was a result of this dangerous operation. However, upon inspection, no cracks were found in the pipes; but in one of the flues, the cleaning doors were found open, so it can be assumed that the open opening in the flue allowed the flame from the stove to penetrate under the roof and ignite the rafters. Be that as it may, the roof of the bell tower and the church, as well as the entire interior of the latter with its wooden ceiling, became victims of the flames. This church, built in the Romanesque style, was one of our best artistic works in terms of its simplicity and graceful proportions, as well as the restraint and nobility of its style.”
Therefore, we dare to think that a few words we intend to say about the church will not be superfluous for the readers of “Zodchy.” This church represents, among other things, an instructive example of what a small corporation of people can achieve when all strive together toward one goal. It was built, although with great difficulty, solely with funds from its parish, which did not exceed 3,000 people.”
On December 14 [26], 1872, a severe fire occurred in the church. Between 1872 and 1874, it was restored by architect Rahau. Small changes were made — the bell tower was raised, and the ceilings were lifted. The church hall was decorated with stained glass made in Riga.
In 1929, the church was closed and converted into a dormitory. In the 1930s, the building was completely rebuilt in the Constructivist style as a House of Culture by architects Grinberg and Reitz, with sculptors Averkiev, Nikolaev, and Shultz.
The upper part of the tower with the spire was removed, and sculptural compositions and balconies were added to the facades.
Functionally, the remodeling consisted of arranging an auditorium on the nave side, and the bell tower was transformed into a tower-like pylon. Almost the entire height of the pylon was occupied by a huge stained-glass window. The hall also had significant glazing. Later, the project underwent further modifications until it finally took the form we see now.
The magazine “Architecture of the USSR” in 1936 gave a negative review of the already discredited Constructivist forms of the building: “The authors of the House of Communications workers rightly considered the necessity of preserving the tower but apparently did not understand the character of its architecture. The building, crowned by the tower, no longer completes the perspective of the Moika; it appears suddenly and seems like a dull, flat box. Deprived of an expressive silhouette, the building does not fit into the ensemble and is perceived as a foreign body, like some warehouse or factory in the middle of the city. This is a typical example of a transitional style, i.e., an ‘enriched’ but fundamentally purely Constructivist structure with all its inherent shortcomings.”
Later, the House of Culture was renamed the Palace of Culture. It housed a concert hall, a cinema hall, a library, and leisure clubs.
The history of the Palace of Culture of Communications is closely linked with the formation of the Leningrad school of Russian rock; bands such as “Aquarium,” “Kino,” and others performed and recorded on its stage.
Sources:
https://www.citywalls.ru/house1487.html
https://www.citywalls.ru/house8277.html
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