The People's House or the Hall for Public Readings of Emmanuel Ludwigovich Nobel was a community center of the production-residential complex of the mechanical plant "Ludwig Nobel." This cultural and educational institution for all laborers and intellectual employees of the plant was established on the initiative and with the funds of industrialist Emmanuel Nobel (1859–1932).
The Nobel People's House was opened on September 30, 1901. It is a two-story building with a hall on the first floor that could accommodate 600–700 people, and an even larger hall with a stage and choir lofts on the second floor. Additionally, there were numerous rooms for a library, meetings, and in the semi-basement, a cloakroom, restrooms, and other amenities.
The construction of the two-story building in the early Art Nouveau style on Nyustadtskaya Street (now Lesnoy Prospect, 19), designed by architect Meltzer, began in 1897. The opening took place on September 30, 1901. The interiors featured original artistic decoration. The semi-basement housed the cloakroom and other conveniences. On the first floor were a meeting and evening hall, a reading room, a library, and a dining room for workers' children. The second floor had a large auditorium with a stage, a lectern for the speaker, a projection apparatus, and a screen for showing "shadow pictures." The hall, decorated with paintings on industrial themes, was also intended for playing lawn tennis: the asphalt-covered floor was marked with red lines. Concerts and celebrations for workers' children were also held here. There were rooms for meetings, a billiard room, and spaces for clubs. The house was surrounded by a large garden with a tennis court, which was made available to the workers' children. In winter, it was used as an ice rink and for an ice hill.
Initially, the readings were managed by the director of the Prince Oldenburg Shelter, Sidorov. The topics of the readings were diverse, and they were eagerly attended not only by workers but also by their wives and children, so the number of listeners often reached 600–700 people. From January 1905, the organization of lectures was transferred to the Commission of Public Readings, established by the highest authority. The lectures, accompanied by light pictures and various demonstrations, took on a more serious character, approaching the program of people's universities, covering not only Russian history and natural phenomena but also chemistry, physics, botany, and more.
The Sampsonievsky People's Choir existed at the People's House, giving free concerts of brass music. Performances by professional theater troupes were held (for example, Ibsen's play "Brand" was staged with great success by the Art Theater).
The house also hosted meetings of the administrators of the "Brothers Nobel" Partnership, as well as mass gatherings of workers' organizations, including meetings of the Social Democratic Party.
On November 15, 1906, Nobel opened a library in the People's House with 2,650 volumes. Employees and workers of the plant were issued Russian and translated fiction, books of spiritual content, and works on natural, technical, and social sciences. At the request of readers, a section of books in German, French, Finnish, and Estonian was created. In 1908/1909, the library had 715 readers.
In October 1909, a children's library was opened, mainly used by current and former students of the Nobel school. By the end of the first reporting year, the library held 600 books and was subsequently replenished with new books according to the interests of subscribers.
With the outbreak of World War I, the People's House building was arranged as a "Hospital for the Wounded of the Brothers Nobel Partnership" for the lower ranks. It was headed by Dr. Martha Ludwigovna Nobel-Oleynikova, who had previously organized and maintained at her own expense a colony for weakened children of workers. In the hospital, alongside regular medical practice, she conducted scientific research and implemented new treatment methods. The first wounded were admitted to the hospital on November 5, 1914; the official opening took place on November 16. Wards were set up in the halls, the billiard room was converted into an operating room, and the library became a dining room. The wounded were taught literacy, shoemaking, and basket weaving.
In the 1920s, the premises of the People's House and the neighboring mansion were occupied by the Plekhanov Youth Enlightenment House and a library. Since 1931, these buildings were transferred to the Children's House of Culture, later to the Pioneer House, and then to a design institute.
Sources:
http://www.encspb.ru/object/2860380153?lc=ru
www.citywalls.ru/house1072.html
