Trade on the territory of modern GUM has been carried out since the 15th century. The historical name of the complex is Upper Trading Rows. Initially, Nikolskaya, Ilyinka and Varvarka divided all trade opposite the Kremlin into Upper, Middle and Lower rows. Each block inside was divided into rows, according to the nature of the goods: Bell, Caftan, etc. In the 15th–16th centuries. trade took place in wooden shops under Boris Godunov in 1596–1598. Stone buildings also appeared, but despite frequent fires, the replacement of wood with stone proceeded very slowly. In the 1780s. the front part of the Upper Rows from the Red Square side received a second floor and an arched facade with a ten-column portico. A project for a complete reconstruction of the complex was developed, but was never fully implemented.
In the fire of 1812 the rows were completely burned out, but by 1815 a new complex was built according to the project, again classic: with a portico and dome. The side parts in the shape of the letter “G”, facing Nikolskaya and Varvarka, received the popular nickname “verbs”. The building was decorated with bas-reliefs in the form of female figures carrying laurel wreaths, and the coat of arms of Moscow was placed on the main portico on the side of the square. There were 32 stone buildings in total. But this complex also fell into disrepair: the passages, littered with goods, turned into narrow slums, the premises were poorly lit and - to avoid fires - were not heated. In 1887, the complex was closed; temporary shops consisting of 14 iron buildings were set up right on Red Square. The specially created “Joint Stock Company of the Upper Trading Rows on Red Square in Moscow” held a competition in which the project won. The work was carried out in 1890–1893. On December 2, 1893, the complex was inaugurated.
Although the architect moved away from the classicist style in favor of pseudo-Russian, the structure of the complex remained the same: lines, passages and wide storefront windows. The elongated “terem” roofs and tents with spiers above the main entrance are in harmony with the Kremlin towers. Thanks to the engineers and A.F. Loleita passages (“rows”) received glazed roofs. The building had its own power plant, which illuminated both the rows and Red Square, a water supply system and an artesian well. In total there were 1,200 shops and three meeting halls. In 1897, a cinema was created in one of them.
After the revolution, apartments of famous government figures (for example, People's Commissar of Food Tsyurupa) and a number of offices were located here. In the 1930s There were projects for the demolition of the building and the construction of a multi-story building for the People's Commissariat of Heavy Industry, but then they were abandoned. Trade returned in 1952–1953: the rows were restored and received a new name - the State Department Store (GUM). Nowadays GUM does not have state status, but the established name has been retained. It has become an integral symbol of Red Square. The fate of the Upper ranks remained connected with trade. The Middle ranks, which came under the control of the military, are now awaiting a decision on their fate, and the Lower ranks were completely lost.
Archival documents confirm that already in the 17th century almost all of Moscow's retail and wholesale trade was concentrated in shopping arcades. The old Upper Trading Rows, crowded with people and carts, had a decent view only from the side of the square. And only from afar. A two-story building stretched from to, reminiscent of the current one in architecture: two central turrets, eight columns, large rectangular windows on the first floor, semicircular windows on the second. This building blocked the view of the swarm of small, sloppy wooden shops.
These benches burned several times a year. Fires were especially common in winter due to the stoves that clerks and traders used to heat themselves. But ironically, the biggest Moscow fire in 1812 bypassed the shopping arcades.
In 1815, according to the design of Osip Bove, a new building of the Upper Trading Rows was built. This building was divided between private owners, and they could not be persuaded even for major repairs. Not only was there no electricity there and, due to the threat of fire, it was impossible to use candles, but the building was collapsing before our eyes. Once a layer of plaster fell on the customers, and another time a lady, trying on a velvet dress, fell through the rotten floor, broke her leg and was taken to the hospital directly in an unpaid replacement - the owner was afraid to remind her of this.
At the end of the 19th century, the authorities announced a competition for a new building of the Upper Trading Rows. Many people wanted to perpetuate the glory of their talent, so the most famous architects of that time took part in the competition.
The winner was the design of a building in the pseudo-Russian style by A.N. Pomerantseva, V.G. Shukhov and A.F. Loleita. But the most difficult thing was ahead: Moscow merchants did not want to stop trade during construction. Even the construction of temporary retail premises did not help. Therefore, the authorities had to take extreme measures - lock the old shops and post guards in front of them.
As a result, in 1890-1893, a new building of the Upper Trading Rows was built on Red Square. It caused genuine admiration! Three spacious passages (trade or business buildings, where shops or offices are located in tiers on the sides of a wide passage with a glazed covering) decorated with Finnish granite and marble, its own power plant, an artesian well for local water supply, underground Railway for delivery of goods. But the most surprising thing was the roof - completely transparent, which let in sunlight during the day and allowed one to admire the moon at night. It took 60,000 glasses to create this miracle.
True, complaints have sometimes been made about the architectural style of GUM, they say that the building only pretends to be originally Russian, but in fact is a European arcade dressed up in an inappropriate Russian costume.
The gigantic three-story building of the Upper Trading Rows houses more than 1,000 stores. Now the trading area was divided not into benches, but into salons, decorated with mirrors and furniture. To attract customers, a bank branch, an engraving and jewelry workshop, a hairdresser, a dental office, and a post office were opened in the Upper Trading Rows. That is, GUM became the prototype of modern shopping and entertainment centers, since there one could combine a shopping trip with a visit to a performance or exhibition.
The first price tags in Moscow appeared here. If earlier the seller himself announced the price to the buyer, and it was possible to bargain with him, now the cost of goods has become fixed. The first domestic book of complaints and suggestions appeared here.
After nationalization, the shops were evicted from the Upper Trading Rows building, and officials took their place. The building was dilapidated, there was no electricity or heating, and the power plant in the basement was flooded with water.
GUM owes its new name and revival to Vladimir Lenin. In 1921, he ordered the opening of the country's main store here. And V. Mayakovsky did advertising for him.
Whatever the stomach, body or mind requires -
Everything is provided to a person by GUM.
For a long time, stores had to coexist with government institutions. And in 1934-1936, GUM was planned to be demolished for the construction of the People's Commissariat of Heavy Industry building in its place. But the plan was not destined to come true.
The second time they wanted to demolish GUM in order to erect a monument on Red Square in honor of the victory in the Great Patriotic War. It was also proposed to cover the building with stands or a wall, and rebuild its façade, but GUM again survived. By the way, it was from this building that on May 9, 1945, Levitan conveyed the long-awaited message about the surrender of Germany and the victory of the USSR in the Great Patriotic War.
Guide to Architectural StylesFew people know that at the beginning of the 20th century, 22 families settled in GUM. Communal apartments were built on the upper floors of the building, and ordinary townspeople were accommodated in these rooms overlooking the sky.
Living conditions in GUM were spartan: the apartments had no toilets or bathrooms, and there was no shared kitchen. But there were “bonuses” in the form of a constantly working fountain, free orchestra concerts and film screenings.
In 1952-1953, GUM was restored, and the residents were housed in other houses. Trade resumed then. The former chief administrator of GUM, Serafima Pavlovna Khrunova, said that people were still living in the mezzanines of the second and third floors of the third line, but GUM was already working at full speed.
The historic showroom has now been restored. Cultural events are still held, and Dining Room No. 57 immerses visitors in the Soviet past with dishes prepared according to the canons of the book about tasty and healthy food.
No less interesting place- a recreated toilet from the time of Alexander III, where you can not only use the appropriate services, but also take a shower, brush your teeth, shave, change your baby and just admire the magnificent interiors.
In 2007, the fountain was restored in GUM. It immediately became a popular meeting place. By the way, it was originally round, and only in 1985 it received an octagonal base. In 1992, the gate icon of the Mother of God, which appeared above the entrance from the side in 1893, was restored. In Soviet times it was covered over, but during restoration it was found.
But the most famous innovation is the illumination of the external facade of the building. This is exactly how residents and guests of Moscow know GUM, flooded with millions of lights.
And although now the shopping complex is not state-owned, the name GUM is used along with “Upper Trading Rows”. But more and more often the store is called the Main Department Store of the country. And in August 2012 shopping mall achieved recognition of the abbreviation “GUM” as a trademark, and now, perhaps, only one store will bear this name - on Red Square.
They say that......the clerks often made fun of the customers. For example, they caught mice, put them in a box and wrapped them in bright paper with bows. They placed this “gift” in the way of customers and watched as a respectable gentleman or lady with a thieving look picked up the rodent. And sometimes they froze a small coin to the floor and laughed at the attempts of a passerby to pry it off.
...in 1972, the official M. Suslov was going to close GUM. Victoria Brezhneva, ordering a fur coat from the store’s atelier, learned about this threat. The next day the issue of liquidation was dropped.
...in Soviet times, GUM consisted of 30,000 items of goods. Not surprisingly, he attracted huge queues, the participants of which were jokingly called “humanists.” True, there was also a “200th section” where you could get anything you wanted without queuing. But only government members and senior party members had access there. And sometimes foreigners were taken there to show how good it was to live in the USSR.
GUM in photographs from different years:
The Main Department Store (GUM, until 1953 - Upper Trading Rows) is a large shopping complex in the center of Moscow and one of the largest in Europe. It occupies an entire block, with its main façade facing Red Square. It is an architectural monument of federal significance. In 2008, the GUM building turns 115 years old.
More in the 15th century Makeshift shops were set up in disarray on Red Square. At first 19th century Emperor Alexander I ordered the improvement of this colorful market. According to the design of the architect Osip Bove, a façade was built in the Empire style, imitating the palaces of the Roman Empire. This is how the first building of the Upper Trading Rows came into being.
However, this building served only as a screen, hiding the cramped labyrinths of the market. Half a century later, it was decided to rebuild it on the initiative of the Moscow merchants. Among the 23 works submitted to the architectural competition, the most daring project won. Its authors were the architect Alexander Pomerantsev and the engineer Vladimir Shukhov, who later created the famous radio tower on Shabolovka Street in Moscow.
Three spacious “European-style” passages made of glass and metal, enclosed within traditional “Old Russian” walls, became an architectural phenomenon for Russia at that time. Grand construction has begun in 1890 and ended after three years. The building was located in the block between Red Square and Vetoshny
driving along the radius. According to documents of that time, the length of the facade facing Red Square was 116 fathoms (fathom - 2.13 meters), and that facing Vetoshny Proezd - 122 fathoms.
Along three wide passages (passages), Pomerantsev placed shops on two floors, the total number of which reached a thousand. The passages were covered with glass arched roofs, requiring metal structures weighing 50 thousand poods (833 tons). In the exterior decoration of the building, granite, marble and Radom sandstone were used to reproduce numerous ancient Russian decorative forms. The grand opening of the Upper Trading Rows took place with the participation of the Governor General of Moscow, Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich Romanov and Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna December 14 (2nd century), 1893.
The new shopping arcades became the glory of the Russian merchants. Shopping arcades even then rightfully laid claim to the principle of universality and offered customers an exemplary infrastructure: the services of porters, barbers, bankers and postmen.
After the October Revolution, subordinate organizations settled in the historical interiors of the shopping arcades. Until the early 1950s, GUM remained a government agency.
The date of the second birth of the trading house is considered 1953 In August of that year, the Soviet government decided to reconstruct the Trading Rows building. Production and labor forces from all over the USSR were sent to the shock construction site. In record time, already in November 1953, the first and largest trade center in Soviet Russia, the State Department Store - GUM, opened here. The store became a collection of the most scarce goods and a symbol of the capital of the USSR on a par with the Kremlin, the Lenin Mausoleum and VDNKh.
In the early 1990s, economic realities changed in the country. Along with them, GUM's trade policy also changed. The predominant part of the area was occupied by independent stores on lease terms. Today, customers are offered an exhaustive list of products: from personalized designer clothing and jewelry to everyday household goods. GUM lost its centralization, but retained the principle of universality. GUM (now called the Main Department Store) is an entire shopping district, in which there is a pharmacy, a bank branch, and a flower shop. This is a comfortable recreation area with restaurants and cafes, art Gallery and a venue for cultural events. The internal space of GUM is being improved. The legendary Showroom, which went down in the history of Russian cinema, has been restored. It is planned to host cultural events and social gatherings in its original interiors. The GUM poster includes art exhibitions and bright presentations. A unique illumination project was implemented on the external facade: the architectural elements of the building are emphasized by lines of electric light bulbs. The updated design project involves the reorganization of the passages in the palazzo style: a spectacular lighting system, mosaic floor, living plants.
On December 2 (14), 1893, the grand opening of the new building of the Upper Trading Rows took place (architect A. N. Pomerantsev, engineers V. G. Shukhov and A. F. Loleit) in the presence of the Governor General of Moscow, Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich and the Grand Duchess Elizaveta Fedorovna.
Still from the film “Moscow in Color”. 1954 In the GUM Gastronome.
The inscription on the price tag: "Fresh frozen beluga, medium, 1 kg - 25 rub. 10 k."
F. Hilferding. Red Square in Moscow. 1787
On the right in the engraving you can see the ancient shopping arcades on Red Square.
Engraving by D. S. Lafon based on the original by J. Delabarte. 1795
The upper shopping arcades after reconstruction according to the project of G. Quarenghi.
Photo from the 1880s. from the albums of N. A. Naidenov.
Old Upper Trading Rows (architect O. Bove, 1815)
The shopping arcades, which are visible in the engraving of Hilferding and Lafon, burned down in the fire of 1812 and three years later, according to the design of O. Bove, the building of the new Upper Trading Rows was built on Red Square.
“The views of the Moscow city rows placed here, now partly already broken, were taken with some of their insides even before the order to close them in 1886. In these photographs, the rows are presented as they were for a very long time.
N.N-v. [N.A. Naidenov]. August 1890"
Photo from the 1880s. from the albums of N. A. Naidenov. Internal view: Middle Transverse Passage (from the monument to Minin and Pozharsky).
F. Benoit. Monument to Minin and Pozharsky.
In the background is the building of the Upper Trading Rows of O. Beauvais.
By the end of the 19th century, the shopping arcade building had fallen into disrepair; fragments of plaster sometimes fell on the heads of buyers and sellers. And it was decided to build new rows.
Photo from 1889. Demolition of the Upper Trading Rows. Cellars from the late 16th century are visible.
Photo of 1889 by E. Simonov from the archives of the Museum of Moscow.
“During the demolition of the shopping arcades, two-tier chambers from the time of Mikhail Feodorovich [more precisely, 1595 - d1] were discovered. Coins from the 1600s, a helmet, and a rapier were found in the cache.” From the MAO magazine, dated 1889.
Photo from 1891. Construction of the new Upper Trading Rows.
In the summer of 1889, preparations began for the construction of the rows. On May 21, 1890, the groundbreaking for the building took place. The official ceremony was attended by representatives of the highest Moscow administration and city government. In 1890 -1891, the foundation and walls of the Upper Trading Rows were erected, and in 1893 its cladding and interior decoration were completed. The huge Upper Trading Rows with its two buildings and an entire underground street under the house, with central heating and its own power plant, were built in two years. half a year.
Photo from 1893. Fragment of interiors.
Photo of 1898. Cellars of the Upper Trading Rows.
Photo of 1899 from the archives of the Museum of Patrons. Fragment of interiors. Fur shop of P. Sorokoumovsky.
During the period 1918 - 1921. Various Soviet offices moved into the shopping arcade building, and with the beginning of the New Economic Policy, trade returned here again and GUM - the State Department Store - appeared.
Photo 1931 Branson DeCou.
By the mid-1930s, trade was again forced out of the building by various institutions.
In 1953, shortly after the death of I.V. Stalin, it was decided to revive GUM.
Photo from 1953. Reconstruction of GUM.
The fountain in the center of GUM is a historical structure founded back in 1906.
The base of the fountain is a unique structure, built according to a complex calculation scheme - according to the same principle by which domes were calculated during the construction of churches. Initially, the fountain bowl was round. But in 1953, during the reconstruction of the GUM building, its shape was changed by laying out a new octagonal base made of red quartzite.
The top composition - an openwork structure that has become a kind of symbol of GUM - was made by chasing from copper sheets. This made it possible to lighten the overall weight of the fountain installed on... the dome. The fountain bowl is supported by a system of metal frames located in the basement of the building. The support was designed and manufactured at the beginning of the 20th century specifically for the Upper Trading Rows and has survived to this day.
Photo from 1953. Installation of a sign.
Photo from 1953. GUM before opening.
Photo from 1953. GUM before opening.
Photo from the 1950s. E. Evzirikhina.
Photo from 1954. In the GUM Gastronome.
Photo beginning 1960s
For many years it has been a favorite place for “guests of the capital”...
