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Central ('Chinese') Baths, 1891-1892

Фото 1
Until the mid-1990s, the complex of the Chinese (Khludov) baths, located in the courtyard of one of the blocks on Teatralny Proyezd, was used as a city bath complex. Since the late 1990s, it has become a multifunctional rental property.

The complex was built in 1893 with funds from the famous Moscow merchant of the late 19th century, G. Khludov. Due to its location opposite Kitai-Gorod, the baths received the name of the Chinese baths. The construction was led by one of the leading architects of Moscow in the 1880s, S. Eibushits, known for projects like the Choral Synagogue and the International Trade Bank.

The complex consists of two buildings: the right one, elongated along the courtyard boundary, is intended for the women's section, while the left one, shaped like an inverted letter 'G', with the upper bar facing the passage, is for the men's section. In the men's section, on the second floor, there are ceremonial rooms that are the main attraction of the complex. The entrance to the men's section begins with a two-level vestibule with a grand staircase leading to the second floor into the hall of the common changing room. Behind it is the area of 'private' rooms with two 'palatial' halls.

In the early 1890s, S. Eibushits worked on several projects in Moscow, and he involved a young architect, L. Kekushev, as an assistant, who graduated from the St. Petersburg Institute of Civil Engineers and was a student of N. Sultanov.

The vestibule of the complex is designed in the style of European Rococo of the 18th century. The main decorations of the interior are vertical panels between the windows of the second floor, an ornamental frieze, and a lush stucco frame of the oval ceiling. The grand staircase, divided into two 'streams', resembles the staircase of the Grand Opera in Paris by architect C. Garnier. The lower flight of the staircase is adorned with cast railings featuring figures of winged griffins. In the hall of the common changing room, which is now the main hall of the restaurant, elements of the decor of European palaces of the 16th-17th centuries are used, such as a beam ceiling and a fireplace with a frame decorated with figures of griffins.

After a small corridor, there are the 'Moorish Hall', the Grand Smoking Room (now a karaoke hall), and the Nymphaeum, a hall with a pool. The Moorish Hall reproduces the stylistics of the interiors of the castles of Arab Spain, while the Nymphaeum is designed as a rotunda with a dome and decorated with niches containing statues of marine deities from Ancient Rome.

Renovation and restoration work has been carried out in the building.

Geo point

Центральные (“Китайские”) бани, 1891-1892 гг.

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