Nikolai Alexandrovich Doroshenko, one of the most famous architects, left behind many renowned buildings. Among them are the church of Sorrowful, destroyed by the Bolsheviks, the house of the Wrangel barons, the house of Margarita Chernova, as well as the mansions of Velikanova and Petrov.

He was born on May 5, 1857, in Sumy, Kharkov province. His father was a nobleman and a state councilor. Nikolai's childhood was partly spent in St. Petersburg, where he graduated from the Second Gymnasium. In 1876 and 1882, he studied at the St. Petersburg Construction School, after which he worked for three years.

In 1885, Doroshenko moved to Rostov-on-Don, where he became a junior city architect. Quickly proving himself, he already held the position of senior architect of the city by 1887. His first projects in Rostov included the house of the Wrangel barons and the mansion of Velikanova. In 1880, he became the city architect.

Doroshenko designed and oversaw the construction of many city buildings: the Museum and libraries on Dumskoy passage (1893), a club building, the Rotunda in the City Garden (1893), boys' and girls' gymnasiums, and schools in the Novo and Zatsemernitskoye settlements (1893, 1896). Thanks to his efforts, the Sorrowful church, the house of Chernova, and the mansion of Petrov, reminiscent of a palace, appeared in the city. He combined the position of city architect with private commissions.

During the same period, Doroshenko designed a memorial gazebo on the remnants of the walls of the Dmitrievskaya fortress in the garden of the Commercial Club (now May Day Park). Contemporaries claim that he created the project for the church of the St. Peter and Paul almshouse, consecrated in the spring of 1899.

At the request of the famous mayor of Rostov-on-Don, Alexander Matveevich Baikov, he developed projects for parks in Pyatigorsk and Yessentuki. At that time, Baikov did not hold the position of mayor; it was a break in his career.

Doroshenko worked productively in Rostov-on-Don, creating numerous structures in the style of "brick" eclecticism and "Russian" style. In his projects, he preferred "academic styles," forms, and motifs of the Renaissance, Classicism, and Baroque, but he also worked in other styles. Even today, his surviving buildings amaze with their beauty and craftsmanship.

Unfortunately, Nikolai Doroshenko lived a short life and passed away in 1898, not reaching 42 years. He was respected and loved in Rostov-on-Don, so his funeral was paid for by the city and attended by a large crowd. After his death, his widow received a one-time allowance of 1800 rubles and a monthly payment of 450 rubles until their two children reached adulthood.

Under Soviet power, Doroshenko's name was forgotten, and many of his works were destroyed. However, today his contribution to the architecture of Rostov-on-Don is recognized, and the surviving buildings have been included in the list of architectural monuments of the city.