Shakhovskoy House, Federal cultural heritage estate on Mokhovaya Street, Moscow, Russia.
Shakhovskoy House is a classicist estate at Mokhovaya Street 6, building 1, in Moscow. Its facade is formed by a four-column Ionic portico and a mezzanine, a design compared to the Erechtheion in Athens. The federal monument also includes an 1876 gate and an 1888 courtyard fence.
The estate's main building dates from 1820, when Prince Pavel Shakhovskoy had it rebuilt. In 1867 his daughters Irina and Sofia sold house No. 6 to Ivan Baklanov, director of the Kupavna cloth factory, who in 1868 had architect Alexander Kaminsky unite the house with its wings in classicist style, with a four-column Ionic portico and a mezzanine. A second rebuilding followed in 1886 under Semyon Eibushitz. After 1917 the mansion was nationalised.
The residence served as home to the Shakhovskoy family and remains a defining feature of Mokhovaya Street in the city center. Walking past it, you see the spaces where this noble household once lived their daily lives.
The house stands at Mokhovaya Street 6, building 1, in the Tverskoy District, across from the Borovitskaya Square side near the Kremlin. The gates from 1876 and the courtyard fence from 1888 are part of the protected ensemble, so look for them alongside the main facade. The building now houses the Russian State Library's Centre of Oriental Literature.
The four-column Ionic portico and mezzanine added by Alexander Kaminsky in 1868 gave the facade a resemblance to the Erechtheion on the Athenian Acropolis. The neighbouring houses No. 2 and No. 4 were demolished in 1972 before Richard Nixon's visit, and the cleared ground became known as "Nixon's Lawn".
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