And now when the trees became big… (about restoration of the open spaces with historical value in the center of Petersburg)

Abstract

Open public spaces, to an extent no less than the city’s architectural developments, shape its appearance. The system of open spaces in the center of St. Petersburg reached its ultimate level of development during the first third of the 19th century. The article highlights the key role of the squares which had been formed by that time around the Admiralty. The article emphasizes that they, as a transitional link from “the main street of the city — the Neva” to the public spaces of the avenues and streets, served as “visual bridges” between the landmark buildings of the Admiralty side and Vasilievsky Island, and then of the Petrograd side. It shows large arrays of flourishing soft-scapes that arose in the area in the second half of 19th century and at the beginning of 20th century, and their impact on visual perception of the long-standing architectural ensembles. It also proved that the above strongly contributed to the disintegration of the unique system of open spaces in the center of St. Petersburg. Proposals are made for the gradual transformation of the “transparency” of the panoramic views of the city through conversion of the existing softscapes by means of landscape architecture. Refs 27. Figs 14.