56, Bolshaya Nikitskaya street
56 Bolshaya Nikitskaya Street. Ya. A. Rekk - S. D. Krasilshchikova Mansion
At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, Bolshaya Nikitskaya, like many other central streets in Moscow, began to be actively built up with comfortable mansions surrounded by gardens. The philanthropist Savva Ivanovich Mamontov was the driving force behind the idea of a new architectural appearance for the capital city—instead of constructing four- and five-story apartment buildings. In 1889, the entrepreneur even founded the "Northern House-Building Society" to build the Metropol Hotel and several villas for sale in the city center, but these plans were never realized due to Mamontov's arrest for embezzlement. Nevertheless, the philanthropist's vision gained the support of several wealthy citizens, one of whom was Yakov Andreevich Rekk.
The young entrepreneur, founder of the Moscow Trade and Construction Joint-Stock Company, worked with the most renowned architects of the era (L.N. Kekushev, F.A. Shekhtel, F.V. Walcott, N.G. Lazarev), but for the construction of this house, he chose the German-born specialist Gustav Gelrich. The site for the future estate was no coincidence: as early as the late 18th century, the property belonged to the noble Naumov family and was located between both Nikitskaya Streets. The main house stood in the background: a courtyard with outbuildings overlooked Malaya Nikitskaya Street, while a garden with a greenhouse faced Bolshaya Nikitskaya Street. After a fire in 1812, the property was divided into two parts, and the plot on Bolshaya Nikitskaya Street became the property of State Councilor A.A. Ushakov.
According to Gelrich's original design, the Anglo-Scottish-style mansion's ground floor, complete with a basement, was to house a kitchen, utility rooms, and servants' quarters, while the second floor would house a small living room and bedrooms. However, in 1903, the property was sold to Serafima Dmitrievna Krasilshchikova, a hereditary honorary citizen of Moscow and the wife of Fyodor Mikhailovich Krasilshchikov, director of the Anna Krasilshchikova and Sons Manufacturing Company in the Kostroma Governorate. Gelrich completely redesigned the house to suit the new owner's preferences. The first floor became exclusively ceremonial, the second floor residential; the utility rooms were relocated to a complex of buildings behind the main building.
The street façade acquired a floral Art Nouveau style, and triple-arched windows were added to the side walls. The upper portion of the left bay window was decorated with stucco, and in the center of two stucco panels were male and female masks framed by flowers and plant stems. The mansion's main focal point was a small, scaly dome over the bay window.
After 1917, the widowed Krasilshchikova moved to Nice and settled in the Villa Théodore, which her husband had built before the Revolution. The former property on Bolshaya Nikitskaya Street was converted into communal apartments. In 1955, the estate was transferred to the Main Administration for Service to the Diplomatic Corps of the USSR Ministry of Foreign Affairs (now GlavUpDK), and the building was soon adapted to the needs of the embassy. Specifically, the facades and rooms on the first floor were updated, while the second floor and basement were redesigned. All work was carried out by Mosproekt Workshop No. 4 under the supervision of architect V.G. Gelfreich. Currently, the embassy residence is located here.