HISTORICAL BUILDINGS

1883

State index: 1.6.178.4.11

The house stands between the residential building at 10 Abovyan Street (Grigor Amiryan’s first house) and the “Yerevan” hotel (formerly “Intourist”, now “Golden Tulip Grand Hotel”) at 12 Abovyan Street. It belonged to the native Yerevan merchant Grigor Amiryan, who was engaged in wholesale textile trade. Amiryan owned three houses, two gardens, and part of a caravanserai, making him one of the largest commercial property owners in the city. From 1884, he was a member of the City Duma (council).

According to the 1910 property valuation records, the building was two stories high, constructed of tuff with an earthen roof, wooden floors, and plastered ceilings. The main building had two residential units, each with nine rooms (excluding hallways and kitchens). The courtyard contained one residential unit with five rooms.

In August 1923, the house was nationalized and converted into a dormitory for the All-Union Central Executive Committee (VZIK) and the Council of People's Commissars (SNK) of the Transcaucasian SFSR. Soviet state and party figures who resided here included:

• Alexander Myasnikyan, Chairman of the SNK and People's Commissar for Military Affairs from 1921 to 1922,
• Sargis Ambartsumyan, Chairman of the SNK from 1922 to 1928,
• Agasi Khandjian, First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Armenia from 1929 to 1936.

Later, the building housed the Union of Composers of Armenia and, until the 1980s, the Presidium of the Bar Association. From 1992 to 2014, it was the office of the National Democratic Union party, led by Vazgen Manukyan.

One of Yerevan’s oldest photo studios, founded by Gabriel Khanoyan from Van, operated here. His nephew, Onik Harutyunyan, continued the business for 55 years, photographing many renowned Armenians, including Charles Aznavour, Aram Khachaturian, Hovhannes Shiraz, Avetik Isahakyan, Paruyr Sevak, Hovhannes Baghramyan, and Martiros Saryan. Among Yerevanites, the photo studio was known as “Photographer Onik’s Workshop.”

The building is two stories with a basement, measuring 20.4 and 23.4 square meters. The main structure is rectangular (20.4 x 12.6 meters), with rooms arranged in two rows: one facing northwest (toward the street) and the other facing southeast (toward the courtyard). On the courtyard side, the main volume and the wing are connected by an open terrace. The second floor features a group of rooms and a hall (62.1 square meters, 4 meters high) that opened onto the street via a terrace (now demolished). Access to the second floor is via an entrance on Abovyan Street. The first-floor rooms are accessible from the courtyard through the terrace, which is connected to Abovyan Street by a passage.

The facades of the building are plastered. The street-facing facade is asymmetrical and restrained, featuring a combination of rectangular and arched openings. The lower-floor windows are arched, while those on the upper floor are rectangular. A semicircular vault defines the axis of the left edge of the facade, and the facade is further articulated with rows of supports, cornices, and vertical rectangular pilasters and belts. Inside, the rooms retain tile-clad stoves, each with unique and colorful tile patterns. Notably, one of the central rooms features a stove adorned with a European landscape painting. Two of these stoves are still in use.

The building is constructed using masonry in the “midis” method, with load-bearing stone walls. The street facade is finished with hewn tuff. The ceilings are flat and wooden, while the roof is pitched and covered with metal. The balconies overlooking the courtyard are wooden.

 “Scientific Research Centre of Historical and Cultural Heritage” SNCO

Yerevan Municipality