Central Children's Store on Lubyanka

Central Children's Store on Lubyanka
General information
Location Moscow, Russia

The Central Children's Store' is a toy department store in Moscow, Russia. On March 31, 2015 the original Detsky Mir building reopened under the new name Central Children's Store' or Central Children's Store on Lubyanka. With 100 stores in a seven store mall complex, the Central Children's Store opened as the largest complex of children's stores in the world, according to its developer Hals-Development. Hals-Development is a subsidiary of state banking group VTB.[1]

History

Initial construction

View of the building before reconstruction

Detsky Mir no longer owns the original store it opened in Moscow.[2] The store was built between 1953 and 1957 in the center of Moscow, on Dzerzhinsky Square (renamed Lubyanka Square in 1990). It was designed by architect Alexei Dushkin[1] on the site of the Lubyanka passage over the subway station "Dzerzhinsk" (since 1990 - "Lubyanka"). The shop opened on June 6, 1957. It was Russia's largest toy shop from 1957 until 2008, when it was sold by Detsky Mir to new owners.[3]

  • In 2005, the building received the status of cultural heritage at the regional level.
  • In 2006, the owner of the building "Hals-Development" announced its reconstruction. Because of the protected status only restoration work was allowed, it prohibits new construction in areas of cultural heritage.

Reconstruction

The store was purchased by VTB in 2008 and was closed for restoration,[1] with the cost of the restoration estimated at US $138 million.[4]

On July 1, 2008 the shopping center closed for renovation. Only the outer perimeter walls and interior architectural design were planned to be kept.

Reopening

After the building reopened on March 31, 2015 under the name "Central Children's Store on Lubyanka,"[1] the historical name still belonged to the owner of the building as the trade network "Children's World."[5][3][6]

Atrium with clock mechanism in 2015
View of the store from the exterior in 2015

On March 31, 2015 the original Detsky Mir building reopened under the new name Central Children's Store or Central Children's Store on Lubyanka. With 100 stores in a seven store mall complex, the Central Children's Store opened as the largest complex of children's stores in the world, according to its developer Hals-Development. Hals-Development is a subsidiary of state banking group VTB.[1]

According to the company "Gals-Development", the new artchitect recreated on the original architectural design of the Central Children's Store (Tzentralne Destski Mir na Lubyanka). Marble for decoration were brought from Koelginskogo deposit (Ural Mountains). Stays from the original atrium included 8 bronze lamps and marble stairs.

Reportedly the largest clock in the world,[1] the clock in the new atrium was created by the oldest enterprise in Russia, the Petrodvorets watch factory.[7] Six months were necessary for the development and installation of the clock by a group of engineers from the watch factory "Raketa". The clock's mechanism weighs 4.5 tons and consists of 5000 pieces in steel, aluminum, titanium and gold-plated metal. The mechanism has a height of 13 meters and a width of 7 meters. It consists of 21 large gears and a 13 meters pendulum. The pendulum surface acts as aspheric mirror, creating an optical effect. The main mechanism of the clock is on the fifth floor.[8] It is the largest clock mechanism in the world[9] and it is among the five largest mechanical clocks in the world such as Big Ben, the carillon of the Moscow's Kremlin, the clock on the "Clock Tower" in Prague or of the clock of the city of Ganzhou.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 d'Amora, Delphine (March 31, 2015), Soviet Union's Top Toy Store Back in Business, The Moscow Times
  2. ↑ Marson, James; Razumovskaya, Olga (February 8, 2017), Investors Warm to Russia, With Toy-Store Owner Set to Be First Big IPO Since 2014, New York City: The Wall Street Journal, retrieved February 8, 2017
  3. 1 2 Khrennikov, Ilya (March 31, 2015), Hamleys Moscow Store Transcends Toy Retailer’s London Flagship, Bloomberg
  4. ↑ Soviet-era mega toy store re-opens in Moscow after 7-year renovation, The Malay Mail Online, April 5, 2015
  5. ↑ Do not advertise a past dark with pain, The Financial Times, March 26, 2015
  6. ↑ Legendary Soviet children’s store reopens after refit, Taipei Times AFP, April 4, 2015
  7. ↑ http://www.raketa.com/raketa-zapustila-samyiy-bolshoy-chasovoy-mehanizm-v-tsdm-na-lubyanke/
  8. ↑ THE MECHANICAL CLOCK FOR DETSKIY MIR ON LUBYANKA, raketa.com, 2015
  9. ↑ Colonna, Antoine (July 31, 2015), Moscou s’offre le plus grand mécanisme d’horloge du monde, France: fr.rbth.com
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