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

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

Appearance

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

The very facade of the hotel still impresses passers-by. He is very rich in various forms. There are many rounded elements on it, which have soft, smooth outlines. At one time, the hotel was ideally suited to the construction of the entire avenue.

Hotel "Bristol" (Voronezh): history, how it all began

At the beginning of the 20th century, the Great Noble (and today it is the Prospect of the Revolution) was one of the main streets of Voronezh. Here everywhere stood elegant and elegant buildings, built in the style of Empire and classicism. A noble people strolled past them. And in 1909 construction began here. In just a year and 3 months, a chic 4-storey building grew, which was bright, outstanding among all the rest of the architectural ensemble.

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

• The entire first floor was transferred to the store. It sold rubber products, from tires to shoes. A huge sign on the roof of the "Explorer" spoke about this.
• 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 get some 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 sat. It was only fenced with glass stained glass.
• The rest of the house was occupied by the hotel rooms of the Bristol Hotel.

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

Revolution and War

Hotel "Bristol" did not change its address, even in the difficult times of the Civil War. Even before the revolution, this building was purchased by the Wart-Baron merchants. Then the hotel was nationalized, it moved from one domain to another. Finally, at the end of 1917, it became the headquarters of the Red Guard. In 1921 Arkady Gaidar visited this place. Only in the 30s the hotel was re-located in the building.

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

Hotel "Bristol" (Voronezh) today

Now the hotel "Bristol" is a monument of federal significance. This historic building is built in the Art Nouveau style and is located at: Revolution Avenue, 43. Every day tourists come here to admire the unusual structure in the heart of the city. Even today the hotel "Bristol" (Voronezh) does not look trivial. This building is completely atypical. It's worth a closer look and you can see the original solutions. Now in this building there are shops, coffee houses, and also offices of the Voronezh firms.

To this day the hotel "Bristol" (Voronezh) has undergone several reconstructions. Inside, the steps of the main staircase were replaced, and the old grilles, which were adorned on the balconies, were removed from the outside. Now on the second floor of the building, where previously housed a well-known restaurant in the city, is an inexpensive dining room. Few things here remind us of the old days - only a small photograph of the pre-revolutionary "Bristol".