Singer House

Singer House
Дом компании «Зингер» (Russian)
Alternative names	House of Books
General information
Architectural style	Art Nouveau
Location	Nevsky Prospekt 28, Saint Petersburg, Russia
Coordinates	59°56′9″N 30°19′32″E / 59.93583°N 30.32556°E / 59.93583; 30.32556Coordinates: 59°56′9″N 30°19′32″E / 59.93583°N 30.32556°E / 59.93583; 30.32556
Completed	1904
Design and construction
Architect	Pavel Suzor

Singer House (Russian: Дом компании «Зингер»), also widely known as the House of Books (Russian: Дом книги), is a building located at the intersection of Nevsky Prospekt and the Griboyedov Canal, directly opposite the Kazan Cathedral in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It is recognized as an historical landmark, and has official status as an object of Russian cultural heritage.

History

The building was designed by architect Pavel Suzor for the Russian branch of the Singer Sewing Machine Company. The management of the Singer Company initially intended to construct a skyscraper, similar to the Singer Building, the company headquarters being built at that time in New York, but the Saint Petersburg building code did not allow structures taller than the Winter Palace, residence of the emperor. The architect found an elegant solution to the limit of 23.5 meters: the six-storey Art Nouveau building is crowned with a glass tower, which in turn is topped by a glass globe sculpture created by the Estonian artist Amandus Adamson.^[1] This tower creates the impression of a substantial elevation, but is subtle enough not to overshadow either the Kazan Cathedral or the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood.

In 1919, not long after the October Revolution, the building was given to the Petrograd State Publishing House. It quickly became the city's largest book store, and was subsequently named "The House of Books" in 1938. The book store remained functioning during the Siege of Leningrad until November 1942. It reopened again in 1948. The building was closed for reconstruction during the 2004-2006 period, then re-opened as the home of several businesses, including the familiar House of Books ^[2] and Café Singer.^[3]

Sources

• Рубашкин А. И. (2003). В Доме Зингера и вокруг него (in Russian). Logos. p. 568. ISBN 5-87288-255-6. 
• Вознесенский А. (2008). Дом компании "Зингер" - Дом Книги (in Russian). Коло. p. 44. ISBN [[Special:BookSources/978-5-901841-53-4|978-5-901841-53-4[[Category:Articles with invalid ISBNs]]]] Check |isbn= value (help). 

References

External links

Media related to Singer House at Wikimedia Commons