Brusnitsyny Mansion, Mansion in Vasileostrovsky District, Russia

The Brusnitsyny Mansion at 27 Kozhevennaya Line is a two-storey eclectic building: a ground floor of dark rusticated stone blocks and an upper storey of pinkish-beige brick with darker stone detailing. Three upper openings face the street — a tall arched window flanked by pale carved pilasters, a rectangular window at the left and a narrow window on a rounded projecting bay at the right — under a decorative cornice. Rebuilt by Anatoly Kovsharov in 1884, it takes a Ш-shaped plan.

The building began as a small leather workshop and was purchased in 1844 by Nikolai Brusnitsyn, who transformed it completely. He expanded the operation into a substantial manufacturing business.

The mansion is not a residence open to visitors: after 1917 it belonged to the Radishchev leather factory, which housed its administration here, and today part of it is leased to firms while part stands unused. The surviving decor includes the White Hall's white stucco with gilding and a marble fireplace with kissing putti, and a Moorish-style smoking room with a painted cupola. Carved doors in the dining room bear rams' heads, a symbol of trade.

The property sits on Kozhevennaya Line and is easily reached on foot from Vasileostrovskaya metro station. Several bus routes serve the district and provide different ways to approach the building.

The W-shaped plan dates from Anatoly Kovsharov's 1884 rebuild, when a one-axis annex for the main staircase was added on the east side and a winter garden was laid out on the courtyard side. The facade was then raised under a single cornice, giving the house its present outline.