Imperial (Tsar's) Pavilion of the Imperial Branch

The Imperial (Tsar’s) Pavilion is an unused building of the railway station at the junction of the branches of the Petersburg-Warsaw Railway and the Imperial branch. The pavilion is located in the city of Pushkin. To accommodate trains passing through the Aleksandrovskaya station of the Petersburg-Warsaw Railway heading to Tsarskoye Selo, construction of the Tsar’s Pavilion began in 1895. The project, approved on June 30, 1895, included a wooden station and a covered platform. The pavilion had 4 rooms: a passage (vestibule); the imperial hall; a restroom, toilet. The total area of the building was 111 m².

Traffic on the Imperial branch, built by the Moscow-Vindava-Rybinsk Railway and starting at the Imperial pavilion of the Tsarskoye Selo (Vitebsk) station, was opened in 1902. Members of the imperial family and representatives of foreign powers traveled to Tsarskoye Selo on this line.

In 1903, the Tsar’s Pavilion station, located in Tsarskoye Selo, was further developed. On January 25, 1911, the wooden station completely burned down, with only the platform and part of the canopy surviving. On the site of the burned pavilion, a new building was erected according to the design of architect Pokrovsky and with the participation of Academy of Arts graduate Kurilko. From it, a highway was laid through the territory of the Fermsky Park to the Alexander Palace. The planned and structural solution of the new Imperial pavilion in Tsarskoye Selo was influenced by the Imperial pavilion of the Tsarskoye Selo (Vitebsk) station of the Moscow-Vindava-Rybinsk Railway in Saint Petersburg. The front part of the building included three halls: in the center was a square vestibule with a ceremonial porch, and the halls on either side of the vestibule were intended for the emperor and his retinue: the Tsar’s Hall was on the south side, and the Retinue Hall on the north side. A metal gangway over the platforms and tracks, adjoining the eastern facade of the station, served to receive trains. A gentle ramp was attached to the main entrance, and under the arches of the ceremonial porch, a carriage or automobile could drive in.

The paintings in the halls were done in tempera-glue technique on plaster. The polychrome ornamental painting is a stylized borrowing of elements from the pictorial decor of the interiors of the palace of Alexei Mikhailovich in Kolomenskoye. The unique painting, partially preserved to this day, is an integral part of Pokrovsky’s original design.

During the First World War, 1914–1917, the Imperial (Tsar’s) Pavilion was used to transport the wounded to the hospital deployed in the Feodorovsky town.

The architectural style of the Imperial pavilion relates it to the buildings of the Feodorovsky town, the Ratnaya Chamber, and the barracks of His Imperial Majesty’s Own Convoy. Together, they formed an architectural ensemble in which motifs of ancient Russian architecture were widely used.

In 1918, the station was renamed the Uritsky Pavilion and was used as a dormitory for workers of the Track Repair Mechanical Plant, created on the basis of the imperial railway repair depot (“Remputmash”). The tent over the wing was removed along with the royal emblems, the ceremonial halls were divided by floors, the porch was adapted into a kitchen, and furniture, lighting fixtures, and decorative-applied art objects were lost. In the 1970s, the building was vacated and has not been used since. The hundred-meter gangway was completely dismantled in the 1930s. The Imperial pavilion suffered heavy damage during the Great Patriotic War.

To this day, the building has not been restored. The main volume of the building with stone carving on the facade has survived, as well as the paintings on the vaults of the ceremonial porch and some interiors. The tent over the ceremonial porch is lost, and remains of the entrance ramps may be preserved underground.

For the 300th anniversary of Tsarskoye Selo (in 2010), restoration of the pavilion was declared, but no funds were allocated for the restoration. On March 18, 2008, the Property Fund held an auction for the sale of rights to conclude lease agreements for the pavilion building, which was called the “Tsarskoye Selo station” (Pushkin, Akademichesky Ave., 35b, lit. A). The winner of the auction was LLC “Sansara,” which signed a 49-year lease agreement. Possible uses for the facility include a shopping complex or restaurant.

In December 2017, previously free access inside the building was blocked.

Sources:

https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Императорский_павильон_(станция)