Доходный дом И. Г. Хрящева — В. И. Варгина, 18th-century revenue house in Tverskoy District, Russia
The Khryashchev-Vargin Revenue House is a three-story limestone building on Ilyinka Street featuring classical Russian design with arched windows and carved stone lion faces on its exterior. It now houses the Russian State Archive and the State Archive of Contemporary History, functioning as a research facility.
The building was constructed in 1760 based on an initial design by M.F. Kazakov from the 1780s. It underwent major renovation in the 1890s under architect R.I. Klein, which gave it its present classical appearance.
The building represents a typical Moscow revenue house where merchants lived in upper apartments and ran their shops and businesses on the ground floor. This arrangement shows how commercial and residential life were closely connected in Moscow's merchant culture.
The building sits in a central location on Ilyinka Street in the Tverskoy District and is easily accessible by public transit. It houses working archives that accommodate research visitors, so plan ahead if you wish to consult materials inside.
The facade features a detailed relief frieze above the third floor that showcases specialized masonry techniques from the late 1800s. This ornamental detail is often overlooked by visitors despite revealing the craftsmanship of the stonemasons and builders of that era.
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