If you have ever walked along Kamennostrovsky Prospect in Saint Petersburg, you surely might have noticed an unusual building at 11 Kamennostrovsky Prospect. This is the former house of the Grosh Mechanical Plant. In my opinion, the structure is remarkable for its size: unlike many massive structures in the district, this house looks almost toy-like.
History of the building
The house at 11 Kamennostrovsky Prospect was once part of the Richard Grosh Mechanical Plant complex. The enterprise produced fire equipment and boiler fittings. 120 people worked here.
In the summer of 1887, the plant passed into the hands of Richard Ludwigovich Langensiepen. Under him, new types of products began to be manufactured here, and the number of workers increased by more than six times. At the same time, the plant was known not only for its products but also for its backbreaking working conditions.
In 1918, the plant was nationalized, and only 30 employees remained here. Since 1922, the enterprise became known as "Znamya Truda" (Banner of Labor). The past of these places is reminded not only by the house at 11 Kamennostrovsky Prospect but also by the neighboring production building; now it houses a "Perekrestok" store. I read that somewhere on the former territory of the plant, there should be a memorial plaque mentioning that in 1917 the factory workers organized a Red Guard detachment that participated in the storming of the Winter Palace. I do not know exactly where this sign is located or if it has survived to this day.
The building I decided to show you today was administrative. Probably, some part was occupied by offices for the plant managers, while other rooms were residential. The house was built in 1886; the architect was Alfred Alexandrovich Ashemur. This is one of the lesser-known architects of Saint Petersburg — the list of his works in our city includes only seven objects. This is probably due to the fact that the master worked in the Russian capital for only a few years.
Other architects also participated in the construction and reconstruction of the factory buildings — Nikolai Vsevolodovich Dmitriev, Fyodor Karlovich von Pirwitz, Alexey Petrovich Soskov.
I do not know what is located in the building today. There is no information about residential premises in this house in the Register of Housing Fund Objects. I assume that offices may be located here now. On the ground floor of the building, there are signs of a bar, but online maps indicate that it is temporarily closed.
How to get there by metro
The former house of the Grosh Mechanical Plant is a five-minute walk from the "Gorkovskaya" metro station. You can include this attraction in a walking route along Kamennostrovsky Prospect. Unusual architectural monuments are located on it — the House of Three Benois, the revenue house of K. I. Rosenstein, the House of the Emir of Bukhara.
Happy walks!
