17 Bryusov lane
The house was built as a cooperative for artists of the Moscow Art Theatre.
The artists of the Moscow Art Theatre organized a building society for the construction of cooperative houses in 1927. They were provided with a plot of land next to the church of the Resurrection in Bryusov lane. This house was designed by architect A. Schusev. It was built in just one year.
Externally, 6-storey building is designed in the style of a rigorous and rational Soviet Constructivism of late 1920s. But the layout and decoration of the larger apartments were comfortable, because of the consideration of the future owners’ opinion. Some apartments included fireplaces, even one of the flats had a swimming pool. Stucco ceilings were there.
Memorial plaques are fortified on the building now. It is dedicated to the national artists that lived in the house at various times:
- V.I. Katchalov (1875-1948) : People's Artist of the USSR, an outstanding actor ;
- N.N. Litovtseva (1878-1956) : actress, director and teacher of the Moscow Art Theater ;
- I.M. Moskvin (1874-1946) : People's Artist of the USSR, Moscow Art Theatre actor and director ;
- M. Leonids (1873-1941) : People's Artist of the USSR, actor, director and teacher ;
- E.V. Geltser (1876-1962) : a ballet dancer, People's Artist of the RSFSR, dancer Bolshoi and Mariinsky theaters ;
- V.D. Tikhomirov (1878-1956) : Soviet ballet dancer, People's Artist of the RSFSR, the choreographer of the Bolshoi Theatre and the teacher in his dance school ;
- M.E. Liepa (1936-1989) : People's Artist of the USSR, the outstanding ballet dancer.
Sazhin art gallery is currently in the house. The top floor and attic space converted into a studio of artist N. Safronov. Descendants of soviet culture and science celebrities still reside in the house, some apartments bought by entrepreneurs.
The house is protected by the state as a historical and cultural monument for its famous residents, especially Ivan Moskvin, a prominent Russian and Soviet actor and theater director. He lived in the house number 17 on Bryusov lane till the end of his life. One of the lanes in the city center was called by Moskvin’s name from 1946 to 1994. In the post-perestroika era the original name was returned to that lane - Petrovsky Lane.
