HISTORICAL BUILDINGS

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RESIDENTIAL HOUSE OF YEGOR KHANZADYAN


1896, 1905


State index: 1.6.178.4.4

Architects: Vasily Mirzoyan, Boris Mehraban

The residential house is situated at 3/1 Abovyan Street, located in the intermediate section of Abovyan, Pushkin, and Old Yerevantsi Streets.

According to the 1896 real estate assessment of Yerevan, the land plot owned by E. Khanzadyan was 225 square sazhen (an old Russian unit of length, approximately 2.134 meters). The house was positioned at the intersection of Astafyan (now Abovyan) and Tarkhanov (now Pushkin) Streets.

Construction of the building began in 1896. By 1905, two new wings were added on the sides facing Tarkhanov and Sadovaya (later Lalayants, now Old Yerevantsi) Streets. The ground floor was home to the renowned textile and haberdashery store "Saxony," operated by Egor Khanzadyan, which had been in business since 1877.

In 1923, the house was nationalized and subsequently underwent various internal remodelings over time.

The two-story house features four apartments (two on each floor) and includes a basement. The intense development of the surrounding area, with the plot bordered by streets on three sides and Old Yerevantsi Street intersecting Abovyan Street at an angle, led to a modification of the original layout. The building now has an almost L-shaped configuration, with dimensions of 27.2 meters along Abovyan Street, 18.8 meters along Pushkin Street, and 17.2 meters along Old Yerevantsi Street.

The right wing of the building contains asymmetrically shaped rooms with harmonious proportions. The rooms are arranged in two rows and one row, with sizes of 36.2 square meters and 28.0 square meters, and a height of 3.7 meters. A notable feature of the building is the orientation of the main part of the rooms toward the streets, which is uncommon in perimeter developments.

The main entrance, featuring a vestibule and staircase, is located on Abovyan Street and provides access to the inner courtyard. There is an additional entrance on Pushkin Street. The facades facing the courtyard are framed by corridors up to 2.6 meters wide. The building includes three balconies, measuring 2.6 meters and 1.2 meters, which overlook the streets.

The facades—southeast, southwest, and partially northeast—feature band-like, roughly hewn masonry. The masonry is deeper on the first floor and lighter on the second. The artistic design emphasizes horizontal articulation, characterized by a three-step plinth, inter-floor bands, and, on the second floor, a wall with niches under the windows and a cornice adorned with rows of dentils.

The main entrance on the southeast facade is highlighted by vertical wall articulation, a semicircular vaulted entrance, and upper window openings, all accentuated by rough masonry and horizontal bands. A similar gable is arranged over the wide arched window on the southwest facade. The remaining openings are rectangular, with decorative scrolls on the middle vertical window frames. The balconies feature metal lattice railings.

The building features load-bearing walls constructed of hewn tuff on the street-facing facades, with less processed stone used on the other facades. The courtyard facades are plastered. The ceilings are flat and wooden, while the roof is pitched and covered with metal. The vestibule floors are finished with ceramic tiles, and the courtyard balconies are made of wood.

The house has been inhabited by Soviet state and party officials, including A. Shakhsuvaryan and F. Vardanyan. In the 1940s, the second floor was occupied by the Council of People's Commissars and the Central Executive Committee of the ASSR. Additionally, some scenes from the film Orchestra Boys (1960) were filmed here.

“Scientific Research Centre of Historical and Cultural Heritage” SNCO

Yerevan Municipality


3/1 Abovyan Str.