Manezhnaya Ploshchad (Manezh Square)

Manezhnaya Ploshchad (Manezh Square) Review

When the Soviets razed this square in 1938, many of the area's old buildings were lost. The plan, which never came to pass, was to build a superhighway through the area. In 1967 the square was renamed "50th Anniversary of the October Revolution Square." In the 1990s the square reverted to its original name and construction of an underground shopping mall was begun. Construction was halted in 1993 to let archaeologists excavate the area. The team found a plethora of artifacts dating as far back as the 13th century. In 1997 the Manezh shopping mall was finally opened, much to the chagrin of most Muscovites, who saw it as an eyesore. The present (and prerevolutionary) name comes from the Imperial Riding School, or Manezh, that stands on the opposite side of the square from the Moskva Hotel. The 1817 structure was gutted by a fire in early 2004, but has since been restored.

Opened in 1935, the Moskva Hotel was one of the first buildings erected as part of Stalin's reconstruction plan for Moscow. Despite protests, the hotel that's featured on Stolichnaya vodka labels was demolished in late 2003 to make way for a new Moskva, which is planned to exactly replicate the facade of the original structure; the new hotel is still under construction at this writing.

The U.S. embassy was once on this square. Older city residents still fondly recall how the Americans posted here joined in the spontaneous celebrations that erupted all over the city when the end of World War II was announced. They'll tell you how the Americans kept the party going, rolling beer kegs out the embassy doors and onto Red Square across the way. Bolshaya Nikitskaya. Metro: Okhotny Ryad.