The material is part of a series of texts about the structures of the pavilions of the All-Russian Exhibition of 1896 discovered at Strelka in Nizhny Novgorod. We also published materials about their history., the town-planning significance of Strelka and the foreign experience of using such architectural monuments.
Having seen a photo of the interior of warehouses on Strelka on a social network, I was struck by the striking contrast between the chic metal structure and the utmost utilitarianism of its use. The constructive solution of the warehouses was clearly redundant for solving such an uncomplicated task as storage. This contradiction between form and content prompted me to think that we are dealing with an extraordinary building, figuratively speaking, “retired”.
The design pattern, material and manufacturing technology (riveted joints) made it possible to attribute the supporting frame to the second half of the 19th century. It was then that structures with metal structures became widespread, becoming a symbol of technological progress.
The nature of the interior space, with its openness and considerable size, hinted that it was originally a public building, possibly with a representative function. Taking these considerations as initial data, I assumed that the building that interested me was associated with the 16th All-Russian Industrial and Art Exhibition, which was held in Nizhny Novgorod in 1896.
The first stage of the research was the study of archival photos and plans of exhibition pavilions in order to determine a possible building - "donor". In the process, a striking similarity was found between the structural elements of the central building of the exhibition and the structures of the warehouse. This is very clearly visible in the archival photos of the interior of the central building.
Certain issues caused divergence in the plan. Each of the 8 radial buildings of which the central building consisted was a 3-nave structure in symmetrical cross-section with an elevated central nave and low side naves. The length of each nave varied from 4 aisles (in seven ordinary pavilions) to 5 (in the main entrance pavilion). Each span was revealed by a small pediment located on the side facades. On the main one - respectively, five with a lateral pediment, on the rest - four each.
The design of the existing warehouses was an asymmetric two-part structure, consisting of high and low naves. But on the low nave there were those very characteristic pediments. The other side nave was missing - presumably dismantled during the eventual relocation of the building.
The key to the solution was a German aerial photograph of the city of Gorky (Nizhny Novgorod) in 1943. If you compare it with a modern satellite map, you can see that the pavilions in 1943 were located slightly upstream of the Volga, had a symmetrical 3-part shape, and on one of them, upon detailed study, you can see five side gables, on the other - four.
The fact that the pavilions were located exactly at this place is confirmed by historical photographs of the Siberian pier, which also show how the pavilions looked after being moved from the exhibition area.
Study of archival photographs of the early XX century. made it possible to establish that four of the eight pavilions of the central exhibition building moved to the Siberian pier. But by 1943 there were only two left.
At the Siberian pier, these two pavilions were located at least until 1958. It was then that they accidentally fell into the lens of the photographer of the American magazine Life Howard Socherek, who visited the city of Gorky.
In the early 1960s, the pavilions were dismantled, moved 100 m downstream of the Volga and turned 90 degrees. There they are now. In the process of relocation, one side nave was dismantled at both pavilions and one of the pavilions was shortened by one span. This explains their current state.
A comparative analysis of the general architectural masses reveals patterns in the construction of the volumes of both buildings. The difference in height is explained by the fact that the main pavilion, when installed at the All-Russian Exhibition of 1896, was placed on a 3-meter base.
Based on the foregoing, it can be argued that one of the surviving warehouses is a five-span entrance pavilion of the central building, the other is one of the 4-span privates.
