HISTORICAL BUILDINGS
“CHILDREN’S WORLD” DEPARTMENT STORE
1937
State index:
1.6.178.2
Formerly: CENTRAL DEPARTMENT STORE
It is located at the
intersection of Abovyan and Aram streets. Construction began in 1935 and the
building was put into operation in January 1937. The building is three stories
high. The main entrance is emphasized by an open colonnade located at the corner.
Entrances are also opened on the side façades. Above the colonnade rises a
volume with columns topped by cubic capitals. The side façades stretching along
the streets are designed with pilasters and large window openings.
The interior has a clear
spatial layout: on all three floors there are spacious, high-ceilinged columned
halls, which are connected in the central part by corridors. A dentil cornice
runs along the perimeter of the building.
On the ground floor, from the
Abovyan Street side, there used to be a grocery store (gastronom).
The building materials include
finely dressed gray basalt, marble, and glass.
Until the 1980s, it was the
city’s central department store. After the expansion in the 1980s, it operated
as the “Children’s World” department store (project author: Oleg Shokarev,
Yerevanproject Institute).
The building caught fire twice:
in 1956 and 1995.
In 2002–2003, a new project was
developed at the Armproject Institute, according to which the façades on
Abovyan and Aram streets were reconstructed. The work remained unfinished.
Architecturally, the
“Children’s World” department store building is one of the most interesting
structures in Yerevan, clearly reflecting the main trends of late functionalism
(1930s), when elements of functionalism were combined with national forms.
