The Moscow Merchant Bank Building is a historic Art Nouveau building located in the center of St. Petersburg.
Today, as many years ago, the City Dental Clinic No. 1 is located within the walls of the building.
The building of the Moscow Merchant Bank faces Nevsky Prospekt-one of the most beautiful and visited streets of the city.
View of the building of the Moscow Merchant Bank (third building on the left) in the ensemble of buildings on Nevsky Prospekt
The first house on this site was built in 1745-1746 by the architect M. G. Zemtsov for the coffeeshop of the Empress Elizabeth Petrovna-Alexander Ulyanovich Sablukov.
In the 1750s-early 1760s, the architect F. B. Rastrelli rented living quarters in the house and lived with his family, who, due to the difficult financial situation, was forced to sublet rooms.
In 1823-1824, a new four-story apartment building for the merchant Likhachev was built on this site, designed by the architect M. Livena.
Subsequently, the owners of the house changed. At the end of May 1827, in three small rooms of this house, there was an exhibition of the Society for the Encouragement of Artists, which exhibited paintings by K. P. Bryullov, O. Kiprensky, A. Venetsianov and other artists.
The current building was built in 1901-1902 by the architect Leontius (Ludwig) Nikolayevich Benois for the St. Petersburg branch of the Moscow Merchant Bank, which bought the building in 1895. The bank moved to the building from the neighboring house located at the address: Nevsky Prospekt, 44; in which it is now located Gallery of boutiques "Grand Palace".
The house of the Moscow Merchant Bank was the first building in the Art Nouveau style on Nevsky Prospekt. The bank occupied the upper floors of the building, and rented out the lower floors.
In the 1930s, the building opened a self-service cafe "Neva" - one of the first cafes of this kind in Leningrad, then there was a restaurant of the same name. The building also housed a dental clinic-the I. A. Pashutin school, which was succeeded in Soviet times by the Central Dental Polyclinic, which since 1954 has been called Dental Polyclinic No. 1.
Currently, the City's Dental Clinic No. 1 still operates within the walls of the building; there is a bookstore "Bukvoed" and other shops. In the courtyard of the building there is a plaque "In memory of the artist Boris Chudnovsky".
Today the building is an architectural monument, made in the style of South Slavic Art Nouveau. The lower part of the building is opened by wide windows-showcases, the piers between which are lined with Valaam granite. The house also stands out with three-sided glass bay windows and bright architectural decorations.
Practical information
Address of the building of the Moscow Merchant Bank: Nevsky Prospekt, 46.
Website of the City Dental Clinic No. 1: gsp-1.
Nearest metro stations: "Gostiny Dvor" and "Nevsky Prospekt".
Buses: 3, 7, 22, 27. Trolleybuses: 1, 5, 7, 10, 22.
All accommodation facilities in St. Petersburg, including in the city center and on Nevsky Prospekt, can be viewed and booked here
