Arbat Square appeared in the last decades of the 18th century, when the Arbat Gate was dismantled in the White City. She had very little resemblance to the modern one. The square was formed at the place where the roads to Smolensk and Novgorod intersected.
Why is she called that
The whole district has been built up since the 15th century. It was named Arbat (translated from Arabic - "suburb"). It grew, and in 1808 the architect Rossi built a wooden theater of unprecedented beauty. Performances in it were both in Russian and in French. The square was paved, but the fire of 1812 destroyed everything.
Further development
In the story "Adolescence" (in the first half of the 19th century), L. Tolstoy described it as quiet, provincial, with water carriers, sleepy cabbies on shabby paths. Arbat Square was still very dirty. The Chertory brook flowed through it. Horses were exhausted, taking heavy carriages or wagons out of impassable, water-soaked soil. In the year 72 of the 19th century, the Prague tavern was built and opened here. His cabbies in Moscow began to call him "Braga". Arbat Square attracted the merchant Tararykin in 1902. He bought and rebuilt an inn, made in itgreat restaurant. The Moscow intelligentsia fell in love with it: the famous annual "Rubinstein dinners" were held there, the poet Verharn and I. Repin were honored. After the revolution, this place changed its purpose many times. There was a dining room of Mosselprom, a library, and only in 1955 the restaurant was restored. Czechoslovakia helped equip it. Table crystal and chandeliers were brought from it. "Prague" began to justify its name.
In 1909, on the right side of Khanzhonkov Square, one of the first Russian organizers of the film industry opened a cinema, which he called "Artistic". The auditorium had four hundred seats, and there was a fountain in the foyer. Now there is a monument to the first movie ticket. The cinema has been rebuilt many times. Now it has again, as it was under Khanzhonkov, three halls, a balcony has been restored. During the reconstruction, the old steps that led to the cinema were replaced with new, granite ones. Nearby put public toilets with a security system. Tickets are sold right there, nearby. The Grauerman Maternity Hospital is another historical building, which is known for the fact that Bulat Okudzhava, Kir Bulychev, Andrei Mironov, Alexander Shirvindt, Mark Zakharov, Mikhail Derzhavin were born in it. In Soviet times, the best obstetricians worked here, there was the most modern equipment. But the activists did not defend this building.
To the right of the cinema there was an indoor market, on the site of which the entrance to the Arbatskaya metro station was built. By the 70s of the last century, Arbat Square becameshapeless, a tunnel was laid under it, the square as such was gone.
Modern landscaping
The square is located in the very center of Moscow, and the view was unpresentable. We had to squeeze through a narrow passage to the Arbatskaya metro station, because for about 20 years a large two-story building of unauthorized construction stood nearby, which blocked the passage of passengers to the very busy station of the Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya line. It was demolished in February 2016. Now the square has been made into a pedestrian zone. The improvement of Arbatskaya Square affected not only it, but also the streets adjacent to it: Znamenka, Krestovozdvizhensky and Starovagankovsky lanes. On a pedestrian space of almost twenty-one thousand square meters. m was laid out with large granite tiles. Its service life will be more than a dozen years. We put up lanterns and benches. One hundred and fifty-four main lamps, as well as forty-four additional floor lamps, began to illuminate the square. At the same time, overhead wires are hidden underground.
Location of Arbat Square in Moscow
Where Gogolevsky Boulevard, Znamenka Street and Arbat Gate Square intersect, the modern Arbat Square is located. The photo shows part of it.
You can see the Khudozhestvenny cinema and a detail of the entrance to the Arbatsko-Filyovskaya metro line (the red building at the back). It is shaped like a star with five ends.
When the transformation began
From May to August 2016, work was carried out to change the appearance of the territory (Arbatskaya Square). Moscow waswe need a modern, modern, updated area according to the developed program "My Street". In accordance with it, not only this square, but also four adjacent streets were affected. They expanded sidewalks, changed lanes for cars and replaced 33.5 thousand square meters. m of asph alt pavement, arranged convenient parking so that you can then walk around the square. Green spaces are not forgotten either.
Thirty-one trees and twenty-five shrubs have already been planted. The area was decorated with benches, flower beds, lawns. We created a cozy place for walks of Muscovites and guests of the capital. The adjacent streets, along with Arbatskaya Square, acquired a modern look worthy of the capital of a huge state.
