Starokonyushenny Lane, Building 23. N.I. Kazakov's City Estate
Starokonyushenny Lane, connecting Arbat with Prechistenka, is named after the Old Tsar's Stables Settlement, which stood here in the 16th and 17th centuries. It has preserved a number of architectural monuments, mostly from the 19th and early 20th centuries. A striking example is the building now numbered 23.
Prince Nesvitsky's extensive estate, located here in the 18th century, was divided into three plots, one of which later went to Maria Alexandrovna Lopukhina, the wife of a guards ensign. After the fire of 1812, the property changed hands several times until it was acquired by Court Councilor A.G. Arbuzov in 1868. He commissioned the construction of a two-story wooden building on a stone foundation, along with a similar outbuilding where archaeographer V.I. Kholmogorov, author of works on the history of Moscow and the Moscow region, lived for several years.
In 1898, the property was purchased by Nikolai Ivanovich Kazakov, a hereditary honorary citizen and entrepreneur involved in the tea trade and in charge of "commission business at Gostiny Dvor." Interestingly, the Kazakovs were related to other famous tea merchants, the Perlov merchants, who became famous for their architecture. At the owner's request, the previous structure was demolished, and a new Art Nouveau mansion was planned in its place: with flowing lines, floral and plant ornaments, and women's mascarons. The design was commissioned from Karl Karlovich Gippius, a graduate of the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture, and Architecture and the district architect on staff at the city council. It was he who designed the façade of the "Tea House" on Myasnitskaya Street, owned by Sergei Vasilyevich Perlov, head of the partnership "S.V. Perlov and Co."
The long street-facing façade was adorned with horizontal rustication, prominent window frames, and a stucco frieze. Particularly noteworthy is the false bay window in the central part of the façade, with a semicircular niche adorned with a composition shaped like a girl's head and a meticulously crafted iris flower. The interior of the mansion was originally divided into two apartments, one of which, on the ground floor, was intended for N.I. Kazakov's family, while the other was rented. The ceilings of all the rooms were decorated with rich stucco moldings, the floors were oak parquet, and the doors and frames were painted pine. The two floors were connected by a stone staircase (its railings bore a pattern in the form of thistle flowers), and from the first floor there was also a wooden staircase leading to the basement, which was covered with asphalt and Mettlach tiles.
The house and the wooden residential outbuilding were equipped with the latest technology: in addition to hot water heating, there was electricity, running water, and sewerage (water closets, bathtubs). The rented apartment was inhabited at various times by the widow of the merchant David Abramovich Morozov, Elizaveta Pavlovna (née Sorokoumovskaya), and then by the industrialist and banker Nikolai Alexandrovich Vtorov, who soon moved to his new house at 10 Spasopeskovskaya Square, better known today as Spaso-House.
On the eve of the February Revolution of 1917, the wife of N.I. Kazakov, Nadezhda Petrovna Kazakova, sold the property to Emilia Konradovna Peltzer, a Dutch citizen, the wife of physician Friedrich Oskarovich Peltzer (from this rather large family, the famous Soviet actress Tatyana Peltzer descends). However, within a few months, the mansion was nationalized, and from 1918, tenants began moving in, including those traveling to Moscow on business. After the Peltzer family left for the Netherlands, the building complex was transferred to the Bureau of Foreign Affairs (now the GlavUpDK) and used for diplomatic missions.
In 1957, the mansion, which at the time housed the residence of the Canadian ambassador, was visited by the renowned Canadian pianist Glenn Gould, who was touring in the Soviet Union. Until recently, the building's top floor housed a grand piano, which the musician played during his visit to his country's diplomatic mission.