The Krasnye Vorota metro station is closed in the morning without warning. At the opening of the Red Gate lobby: notes from an old-timer When the Red Gate station opens

But first, it is worth recalling that we are talking about the metro lobby, which was opened in the summer of 1954 in the residential wing of a high-rise building near the Red Gate. Alexey Dushkin insisted on this, one of the authors of the highest skyscraper, an innovator in metro construction, and he is also the author of a new exit, which turned out to be his last work in the metro. For the architect who designed five famous metro stations in the center of Moscow (Kropotkinskaya, Mayakovskaya, Ploshchad Revolyutsii, Avtozavodskaya, Novoslobodskaya), to unite the “bottom” – the beautiful classic Ivan Fomin station lying at great depths (with above-ground vestibule by Nikolai Ladovsky, 1935) – and the “top” of the post-war skyscraper (1947–1952) was both a necessity [given the dangerous land crossing through the Garden Ring and Kalanchevka, at the turn to the railway stations], and a daring plan that followed from his entire creative biography . He was always experimenting and was associated with the implementation of objects in highly complex structural conditions.

Scheme of the foundations of a high-rise building and the slopes of the metro to the article by I.B. Kaspe "Outstanding victory

"Puncture" to a depth of more than 30 m by two escalator slopes, turned at an angle to each other, in the thickness of water-saturated quicksand, was a real technical breakthrough. The true heroes who supported the architect and also took responsibility were the chief designer of the high-rise building Viktor Abramov and engineer Yakov Dorman - outstanding specialists. The construction was carried out using the freezing method, which was known in metro construction, but in combination with the simultaneous construction of a high-rise, the risk was enormous.

Schemes of a high-rise building and metro slopes (longitudinal and transverse sections) to the article by I.B. Kaspe "Outstanding victory
in the history of construction equipment", 2004.

With an open excavation 24 m deep around the foundations of the building and the escalator slope, hundreds of wells were laid for pumping brine, and the installation of the steel frame of the 137-meter tower [to counteract heaving of soil after thawing] was carried out with a given deviation from the vertical - with a counter-roll of 16 (!) cm. By 1962, the vertical had taken its design position. As engineer Igor Kaspe wrote to explore at home, “ Every time we go up the escalator towards Kalanchevskaya Street, we must remember that one of the most outstanding victories in the history of construction equipment was won here in the middle of the 20th century.».

Escalator hall of the northern vestibule of the Krasnye Vorota station. Photo taken in 1957.

It was the cavity of this two-part slope, built with such difficulty and unprecedented risk, divided into different functional zones of the northern entrance, that turned out to be the object of the planned replacement of escalators and restoration work in 2016-2017. The most noticeable is the first slope, which drops 11.5 m. It leads from the spacious ground vestibule to a circular intermediate platform that acts as a "swivel hinge".

The upper escalator chamber, emerging from the body of the building itself, is decorated with freely falling wide steps - a paraphrase of the ceiling cascade on Avtozavodskaya (1943) by the same author. The second slope, lowering by 18.9 m, is turned at an angle of 35˚ and coincides with the axis of the station itself. Until recently, this descent had a smooth stucco vault and opens with a promising arched portal, “sucking” down - an allusion to the famous entrance arch of Ladovsky on the opposite side of the Garden Ring.

The “revolving” main hall, lined with red Salieti marble, which figuratively combines it with the “Red Gates” of Fomin, is covered with a flat ribbed dome with oval medallions, an elegant geometric and floral pattern. The plafond of the upper hall, as Boris Barkhin joked, is "Cameron's collected works", alluding to the Agate Rooms in Tsarskoye Selo. Here, an oval white "sky" rests on walls with light Gazgan marble in pearl gray and pink. The ceiling is decorated with small sculptures, which are interesting to look at: there is the high-rise building itself, and sunflowers, both pointing upwards. So the logic of facilitating space and color was shown as it rises from the depths. The plinth elements are made of graphic dark gray marble, as if beating off these levels of descent and ascent.

The overall picture is complemented by light - two front chandeliers at the entrance and large sconces in the "rotary" hall, creating a strip of bright reflections on the polished walls. Of all the works of Dushkin in the metro, the northern vestibule is the most complex and burdened with decor, which the architect himself consistently opposed in the practice of metro construction. But the style of "victory" and the post-war "triumph" in architecture, and the very figurative program of the high-rise building, in which the vestibule is built, did their job.

But back to the impressions after the "repair" and how it "became". First of all, I was pleased with the stopping of abundant leaks in the upper escalator hall. Years of neglect led to local erosion of the surface of the ceiling, the destruction of stucco and the construction of ridiculous "devices" hanging from the ceiling. The water, which flowed uninterruptedly from the day surface, oozed along the ceiling cascade above the first slope. Constant wetting, as at all stations with a similar problem, the subway "cures" with oil painting on plaster, which turned a beautiful cascade into a slippery structure. Now the restored plafond and the stepped descent have acquired a decent look. However, a month later, on one of the steps of the ceiling, traces of dripping and traditional filling with white oil paint already appeared, which, to our great regret, indicates an unresolved problem. It is not difficult to assume that in the near future, as always happens with "water", this process will intensify.

Secondly, the clearing of space from the bulky police post of low-end design was immediately striking, although the numerous security frames in the entrance area still block the lobby and clog the eye, which is inevitable. Thirdly, it is important that the marble coating on all surfaces remained practically unchanged, with the exception of some local areas. Marble capitals and balusters were repaired, slabs were polished. Traces of their mechanical processing are visible in the sliding light, especially on the gentle "Gazgan", which detracts from the value of the work done. It seems that it was left unfinished in a hurry, or is this the maximum that masters can provide today? But against the backdrop of the massive "ripping off" of the old cladding and its replacement with a new and brilliant work on the "Red Gate" - a turning point in relation to authenticity.

Fourthly, they replaced the half-broken flooring of the 1980s. The dark-ocher and almost black floor made of large-format slabs, the size of which seemed somewhat excessive for the volumes of the entrance vestibule and the "swivel" hall, united the spaces into an architectural whole. Wood veneering of all technical doors – metal safes, painted in dense gray, which the metro installed indiscriminately and overnight at almost all old stations, abolishing the original oak woodwork, can also be considered a certain achievement.

What is also gratifying is that all three cabinets of control panels have been preserved, however, with some changes and loss of details. And, as you know, it is from the details that the whole is formed.

From the author's drawing of details and color, harmonious with the architecture of the station - to unification and in-line production.

Among the other inevitable impressions of how it “became” is a radical change in the appearance and color scheme of the escalator descents, which historically were part of a single three-part system (“station” - “tilt” - “lobby”), which, in fact, is a “monument ".

The replacement of six EM-1M and EM-4 escalators manufactured in 1954 with new-generation domestic mechanisms, which in itself is a very difficult technical task, changed not only the texture and color of the balustrades (high-tech metal), but also their proportions, width and height.

The dark spot on the Gazgan marble (left) shows how much the height of the balustrade has changed.

So, from the side of the walls, the size of the falling balustrade ribbon has sharply increased - instead of narrow and dark, it has become wide and light-metal; narrower became the two median ribbons of the balustrades. The height of the handrail is now about 110 cm instead of the usual normative 90-100 cm. The hand noticeably feels this difference, and for children and short people, the height increment turns out to be quite uncomfortable.

At the same time, it is surprising that the subject of protection of the station, approved by the Moscow Heritage Committee (18.02.2013, No. m16-09-819 / 3), prescribes the preservation of “finishing the balustrades of escalators with mahogany veneer”, which is logical and quite discussed. But this was written, apparently, without hope of success, and even then, when the replacement for high-tech was in full swing in the subway.

To this it should be added that the smooth stucco vault of the second slope was replaced by a prefabricated ribbed one. As with all other historical stations that have lost their original inclinations, this dramatically changes the integrity of the perception of the entire cavity. The question arises as to the real need for such a replacement. Everything together hurt the eye, since the escalator zone is not only a technique, but also a specific architecture of space with its own canons of beauty.

But what should be recognized as successful and, apparently, the first experience of such preservation in Moscow (existing for a long time in St. Petersburg), is the restoration of original lamps on the balustrades of escalators, which also prescribes the subject of protection of the station. All metal parts of standard floor lamps with spherical frosted glass shades, numerically completely returned to both slopes (10 on the top and 18 on the bottom), as well as the grilles on the balustrades, were restored. Wooden elements are carved anew. But the disposition of the floor lamps on the ribbons has changed, which is noticeable when comparing "it was" - "became". Their subdued light helps to maintain, at least in part, the historical perception of the descents, but the luminous strips of bright acid green, installed on both sides of the ribbon comb itself, can break this impression.

In addition to changing the shape of the plafonds, the details of the top and bottom, which fasten the central oval, turned out to be turned upside down.

As for the rest of the lighting fixtures (chandeliers and wall sconces), they are also kept authentic. The changes affected the lower part of all shades, the shape of which was recreated, as evidenced by the historical photo. But at the same time, the question arises, was it necessary to do this when an adequate replacement occurred during operation? In this case, the desire for “historical truth” looks unjustified, especially since the metal parts of the sconce were enriched with bronze anodizing after restoration, the traces of which were not visible before.

Entrance doors and vestibules have undergone very significant changes. As at almost all stations, this zone changed both in the 1960s and in the late 1970s. The project provides for their "reconstruction according to archival drawings." What happened is fundamental, representative, decorative, very heavy in weight and not suitable for modern use. New hinged oak doors with metal plates, four in each vestibule, are hardly served. For children, the elderly, and frail women, entering/exiting without assistance is an almost impossible task, not to mention the wind loads.

Part of the doors have already been removed, tightly folded in one of the vestibules. But another question arises - did such doors exist with a complex lighting device in nature? If they were drawn like that, were they carried out by the author himself? In the photo of 1957, that is, three years after the opening of the northern lobby, the doors that grew in 2017 are not found. There are no massive oak boxes protruding inside, no carved wreaths with ribbons and other fittings, which are now called the “Stalinist metro” style.

It can be assumed that either by 1957 they had already been dismantled, or carried out subsequently. But the party ruling on the so-called "excesses in architecture" in 1955 makes their later appearance unlikely. Similar wooden doors were not found in the entrance group of the main entrance of the high-rise part. So the question is not removed, including in terms of further operation.

The fact that the monumentalization trend was promoted by the designer (LLC "Kitezh"), and in this case by the metro itself, is evidenced by the large window of the escalator hall, which was previously a showcase. Broken down many years ago, repaired by a household method with a simple pine carpentry and for the first time deglazing, now it is reproduced as before with the loss of the original stained glass plane, with double oak frames. This one-piece stained-glass window had to be restored if we are talking about scientific restoration. However, the clearly unjustified action, which runs counter to the history and protection of the facade of the high-rise building, turned out to be cloned onto the neighboring display window.

Now, after the work done, walking "from the inside", i.e. from the metro, you discover large display windows gradually disappearing, which set the rhythm and composition of the basement floor of the eastern facade of the high-rise building. The neighboring stained-glass window is still alive - a showcase of a former jewelry store, which was originally opened here as part of the infrastructure and brand of the house, and a little more than two weeks ago turned into a fast food cafe. “My Street” is also powerfully striding here, having come to “Our House” and putting on the priest the historical improvement of the monument, protected by law.

We will not continue further, although there is more to say. Nevertheless, it should be recognized that there is much more good than bad in the restoration of the northern vestibule of the Red Gate. And if you ask what is the worst, the answer comes without hesitation - the disappearance of classic escalator descents. This applies not only to the station in question. The unity of its three hypostases, "top" and "bottom", united figuratively and structurally, is torn apart by a cold and alien metal ribbon, and this onslaught seems unstoppable. Considering that the escalators had previously been replaced and the slope of the opposite southern vestibule changed, the "monument" finally turned out to be dissected. The second and real sadness is the Red Gate station itself with its strongest leaks, the completely killed wall covering of the Georgian Shrosha and the uncertainty of an obviously difficult fate.

The condition of the marble-like limestone of the Georgian Shrosha deposit at the station and replacement options after the opening of the northern vestibule (marble and plastic).

Outstanding architects of different generations left a legacy of great global value in the metro. Can we save? I would like to end on a positive note and make an extremely cautious assumption that in Moscow, gradually, overcoming many difficulties and mistakes, a culture of metro restoration began to take shape. The path is far.

Instead of 1954 escalators, new ones were installed in the lobby - with brushes to protect the moving canvas and sensors that transmit information to the operating room.

The northern lobby of the Krasnye Vorota metro station opened on June 1 after renovation. New escalators have been installed here. The former ones have been working since 1954, and their service life has come to an end.

Now there are six Russian-made escalators in the lobby that meet modern safety requirements. They are equipped with special brushes to protect the moving web from the ingress of small objects and clothing. Special sensors transmit information about the operation of the escalator to the operating point.

The lobby was closed to passengers on January 2 last year. Specialists replaced engineering networks, cable, plumbing and ventilation communications, updated video surveillance, fire and security alarm systems. The cash hall was also repaired here and new turnstiles with glass doors were installed.

Krasnye Vorota is one of the oldest metro stations; it was opened on May 15, 1935. In 1952, the first turnstile in the history of the metro was put into operation here (not counting the experimental model of 1935 at the Lenin Library). The northern vestibule of the Red Gate opened in 1954, when a high-rise building was being built on Lermontovskaya Square.

. . . . . This was announced to journalists by the first deputy head of the subway, head of the infrastructure directorate Dmitry Doshchatov.

. . . . . As pointed out by D. . . . . .

"New control cabinets were used, which include diagnostics to prevent further failures. The cash register was also modernized, now you can pay for travel using bank cards. New navigation elements were also applied that meet the most modern requirements", - noted D. Doshchatov.

North station concourse "Red Gate" closed on January 2, 2016 . . . . . The modernization resulted in six new escalators. . . . . . In total, more than 35 km of cables have been updated, which are responsible for the uninterrupted operation of all life support systems of the station. . . . . .

The reconstruction of the northern vestibule of the Krasnye Vorota station, the one built into the high-rise building on Lermontovskaya Square, was completed ahead of schedule. It was completed ahead of time, 18 months were originally given to replace the escalators, and the exit was planned for opening in July.
I previously showed this lobby before closing and in the process of renovation, and now let's look at the updates.


1. The first thing that catches your eye at the station itself is the new navigation. In the center is now the "metro globe"

2. New output dazzling bright

3. They acted very carefully with the hermetic seal: it was covered with marbled panels

4. Escalator control panels in wooden boxes, hooray! Either this is a very high-quality wood-like material, but still cool

5. Low slope: three Es-service escalators, with LED strip and brushes, as in all modern escalators of this factory

6. Most importantly, the lamps remained identical to those that were before, the second time cheers!

7. We rise to the intermediate entrance hall

8. The joints between the marble slabs are not felt at all.

9. Bra

10.

11. Portal to the big slope

12. Here, too, new escalators with floor lamps in the old style

13.

14. And here is the lobby itself

15. Pleases with stucco and not only

16. I expected that the inspection zone would stand out, but it fit in very well

17. New turnstiles