Public Halls (entry)

Categories / Population/Urban Living
PUBLIC HALLS, a special premise for informal mass events. The first public hall was arranged in banker A.A. Ral's house (On the Moika River Embankment, beside Red Bridge; not preserved), in 1779-90 the New Musical Society (later known as the Musical Club) and of Musicians' Widows Fund held meetings and concerts. In 1774 French impresario Lion rented a house of A.M. Golitsyn (former A.N. Vilboa's house, since 1799 - M.S. Kusovnikov's house, 30 Nevsky Prospekt) for balls and masquerades. Since 1802 Kusovnikov's House housed the Philarmonic Society which gave concerts. Until 1839 the same building was occupied by the Provincial Assembly of Nobility. In the end of the 18th century rich innkeepers and restaurant owners rented out halls for concerts at Wiertemberg's (9 Malaya Morskaya Street), in the English Restaurant (Angliyskaya Embankment, the house is not preserved), in the Demutov Public House (40 Moika River Embankment), and the halls of Myatlevs’ House (9 St. Isaac Square), of Sheremetev Palace (34 Fontanka River Embankment), Yusupov Palace (94 Moika River Embankment), Stroganov Palace (17 Nevsky Prospect) and others. In the early and mid-19th century among common public the halls of Passage were popular (48 Nevsky Prospect), together with the halls of Pashkov's House (39 Liteiny Avenue), Lichtensthal’s Hall in Kosikovsky's House (15 Nevsky Prospect). Since the mid-19th century new municipal buildings (educational establishments, commercial societies, museums etc.) were more and more often erected with halls (by the end of the 19th they nearly reached 250 in number). In the second half of the 19th century the best-known halls were the halls of City Duma (33/1 Nevsky Prospect), the Officer Assembly (20 Liteiny Avenue), Panaev Theatre (4 Admiralteyskaya Embankment; not preserved), N.N. Shebeko's Hall (33 Galernaya Street) and others. Since the 1880s popular houses with concert and lecture halls came into being in St. Petersburg. The halls of Demidov's House for the Care of the Workers (39 Dekabristov Street, former Ofitserskaya Street), Ligovsky Peoples' House (63/10 Tambovskaya Street), Emperor Nicholas II's Peoples' House (today 4 Alexandrovsky Park) and others were used for conducting many social and cultural events. During the Revolutions of 1905-07 and 1917 for meetings, reunions, party conferences and other mass events the halls of St. Petersburg City Credit Society (present day 7 Ostrovskogo Square), the Technological Institute, Kschessinska 's Mansion, Smolny Institute Assembly Hall, Modern circus (corner of Kronverksky Avenue and Kamennoostrovsky Avenue, not preserved) and other halls were used. Nowadays the largest public halls of St. Petersburg are the Big Concert Hall Oktyabrsky (6 Ligovsky Avenue), Sports Palace Yubileyny (18 Dobrolyubova Avenue), Mikhaylovsky Riding Hall (2 Manezhnaya Square), Sport and Concerts Complex Peterburgsky (8 Yury Gagarin Avenue) and others. The halls of theatres, cinemas, museums, etc., are also used for various mass events.

References: Алянский Ю.Л. Увеселительные заведения старого Петербурга. СПб., 1996. p. 102-104.

Y. N. Kruzhnov. Golitsyn Alexander Mikhailovich, Duke
Kosikovsky Andrey Ivanovich
Kschessinska Mathilde (Maria) Felixovna
Kusovnikov M.S.
Lichtensthal
Lion I.
Myatlevs
Nicholas II, Emperor
Pashkov Ivan Vasilievich
Rall Alexander Franz, Baron
Shebeko N.N.
Villebois Alexander Nikitich
Wirtemberg
Admiralteyskaya Embankment/Saint Petersburg, city, house 4
Angliiskaya Embankment/Saint Petersburg, city
Dekabristov St./Saint Petersburg, city, house 39
Dobroliubova Avenue/Saint Petersburg, city, house 18
Fontanka River Embankment/Saint Petersburg, city, house 34
Galernaya St./Saint Petersburg, city, house 33
Kamennoostrovsky Ave/Saint Petersburg, city
Kronverksky Ave/Saint Petersburg, city
Ligovsky Ave/Saint Petersburg, city, house 6
Liteiny Ave/Saint Petersburg, city, house 39
Liteiny Ave/Saint Petersburg, city, house 20
Malaya Morskaya St./Saint Petersburg, city, house 9
Manezhnaya Square/Saint Petersburg, city, house 2
Moika River Embankment/Saint Petersburg, city
Moika River Embankment/Saint Petersburg, city, house 94
Moika River Embankment/Saint Petersburg, city, house 40
Nevsky prospect/Saint Petersburg, city, house 48
Nevsky prospect/Saint Petersburg, city, house 30
Nevsky prospect/Saint Petersburg, city, house 15
Nevsky prospect/Saint Petersburg, city, house 17
Nevsky prospect/Saint Petersburg, city, house 33/1
Ostrovsky Square/Saint Petersburg, city, house 7
St.Isaac's Square/Saint Petersburg, city, house 9
Tambovskaya St./Saint Petersburg, city, house 63/10
Yuri Gagarin Ave/Saint Petersburg, city, house 8
Алянский Ю. Л. Увеселительные заведения старого Петербурга. СПб., 1996 Philharmonic Society
Assembly of Nobility
Demoute's Traktir
Demoute's Traktir
Sheremetev Palace
Yusupov Palace (94 Moika River Embankment)
Stroganov Palace
Passage, department store
Pashkov House (Liteiny Avenue)
Chicherin House
City Duma
State Institute of Technology, St. Petersburg
Kschessinska Mansion
Smolny Institute
Manege
Peterburgsky Sport Concert Complex