Apraksin Lane, 4, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 191023
The V. V. Korelin House is a former revenue house, built in 1912–1913 by A. L. Lishnevsky for the merchant Vasily Korelin.
Previously, on the site of the house located near the Apraksin Dvor, there was a three-story building housing offices and warehouses. Built at the beginning of the 19th century, it was rebuilt after the fire of 1862.
In 1912–1913, architect Lishnevsky (https://reveal.world/story/aleksandr-lishnevskij-universal-nyj-soldat-arhitektury), commissioned by the City Duma member and merchant Vasily Korelin, expanded the original building while preserving the existing walls. The construction was associated with a scandal widely covered in the St. Petersburg press in 1913. Tenants of the shops and warehouses located in the building to be rebuilt refused to vacate because their contracts had not expired. Unable to reach an agreement with them, Korelin ordered the stairs to be dismantled, the water supply to be taken apart, the electricity to be cut off, and construction work to begin. The merchants did not manage to evacuate the warehouses, and when Lishnevsky began dismantling the walls and ceilings, the goods suffered irreparable damage. Moreover, after the construction workers bricked up the doorways, the warehouse guards were trapped inside the building and barely managed to escape. The "Petersburg Leaflet" dedicated a note to the incident titled "Walled-in People." One of the merchants sued Korelin and Lishnevsky, but this did not affect the construction, and the building was completed.
Currently, the building houses various establishments: shops, offices, mini-hotels, and more.
The six-story corner building faces Apraksin Lane and the street exit from Apraksin Dvor. Initially, as the drawings show, Lishnevsky intended to design the house in an antique style, but at the last moment, he abandoned neoclassicism and completely reworked the project, giving it vivid grotesque features. It is unknown what prompted the architect, but one thing is clear: he masterfully executed this transition—the building turned out bright, provocative, and memorable.
In decorating the facades, Lishnevsky used very remarkable decor. Numerous bay windows are supported by mascarons depicting bearded old men with very colorful facial expressions, and on their heads sit cherubic putti boys. On the facade, one can see men and women in antique garments, as well as vegetal ornamentation. Between the second and third floors are numerous bas-relief images of kneeling atlantes: they form a kind of frieze encircling both facades. The atlantes support tall pilasters reaching the top floor, decorated at the upper part with stylized stucco masks resembling, according to A. I. Chepel, "mysterious old men" with tongues sticking out and long hanging mustaches and beards. The bay windows are supported by mascarons in the form of bearded heads, on which cherubic putti boys sit. On both sides of the passage arch are figures of owls; popular in northern Art Nouveau architecture, owls were repeatedly used by Lishnevsky in his buildings.
The place of Greek columns was taken by faceted Romanesque pillars; the corner of the building is crowned with a turret with a clock.
Sources:
https://www.citywalls.ru/house3357.html
https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Дом_В._В._Корелина
