Hotel "Bristol" (Voronezh): the rich history of one building

2024 Author: Harold Hamphrey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:06

The Bristol Hotel (Voronezh) is a building located in the very heart of the city. It was built at the very beginning of the 20th century. In 2015, the 105th anniversary of this unusual building was celebrated. And it strikes not only guests and residents of the city, but also architects who come to Voronezh already in the 21st century. Although the hotel has experienced many events in its lifetime.

Appearance

"Bristol" in Voronezh is a four-storey building. It was built specifically to accommodate a hotel, a restaurant and a number of merchant shops. In 1910, not only the exterior of this building, but also the interior was unusual and innovative. Only the most modern technologies were used in the construction: reinforced concrete slabs, passenger and freight elevators.

The facade of the hotel itself still impresses passers-by. It is very rich in various forms. There are many rounded elements on it, which have soft, smooth outlines. At one time, the hotel fit perfectly into the development of the entire avenue.

Hotel "Bristol" (Voronezh): the story of how it all began

At the beginning of the 20th century, Bolshaya Dvoryanskaya (and today it isRevolution) was one of the main streets of Voronezh. There were elegant and ornate buildings built in the Empire and Classicist styles everywhere. Noble people walked past them. And in 1909, construction began here. In just a year and 3 months, a chic 4-storey building grew up, which was bright, outstanding among the rest of the architectural ensemble.

Mikhail Furmanov created such a project. He was not an architect, but an engineer. His work consisted of translating foreign literature on new construction technologies into Russian. Of course, he could not help but apply all this knowledge and innovative developments in the new project. And the owners of the site, Mikhail Litvinov and Alexander Prosvirkin, accepted the ideas of the young engineer.

"Bristol" is the first house in the city built according to the American technology of erecting unique reinforced concrete structures. The author of the project was an innovator in construction. In addition, the inside of the building was organized quite unusually:

• The entire first floor has been handed over to the store. It sold rubber products, from tires to shoes. This was indicated by a huge sign on the roof of the Explorer.
• The second floor was occupied by a luxurious restaurant. Each visitor could not only enjoy the original dishes from the chef, but also admire the views of the city from the huge windows. At the same time, at any time, the visitor could go out and breathe fresh air on the balcony of the restaurant. It is interesting that in this institution the kitchen was located directly in the hall where the guests were sitting. She was only fencedstained glass window.
• The rest of the floors of the house were occupied by hotel rooms at the Bristol Hotel.

The first owners of the hotel (O. O. Tuteloglu and S. K. Govsepian) started work already in 1912. In just a few years, the Bristol has grown into an incredibly popular hotel and restaurant.

Revolution and war

The Bristol Hotel never changed its address, even during the difficult times of the civil war. Even before the revolution, this building was acquired by the merchants Wart-Baronovs. Then the hotel was nationalized, it passed from one property to another. Finally, at the end of 1917, it became the headquarters of the Red Guard. Arkady Gaidar visited here in 1921. It was not until the 1930s that the building became a hotel again.

After the Second World War, Voronezh almost lost the Bristol Hotel. Because of the “anti-artistic” look of this house, they wanted to change it beyond recognition (demolish all balconies, significantly reduce window openings). But it did not come to such a reconstruction.

Hotel Bristol (Voronezh) today

Now the Bristol Hotel is a monument of federal significance. This historic building was built in the Art Nouveau style and is located at 43 Revolution Avenue. Tourists come here every day to admire the unusual building in the very center of the city. Even today, the Bristol Hotel (Voronezh) does not look trivial. This building is completely atypical. It is worth taking a good look at it and you can see original solutions. Now in this building areshops, coffee houses, as well as offices of Voronezh companies.

To this day, the Bristol Hotel (Voronezh) has gone through several renovations. Inside, the steps of the main staircase were replaced, and the age-old gratings that flaunted on the balconies were removed from the outside. Now on the second floor of the building, which previously housed a well-known restaurant in the city, there is an inexpensive dining room. Little here reminds of the old days - only a small photo of the pre-revolutionary "Bristol".