#ARCTIC. #SIBERIA. THIS IS TAIMYR. On April 27, 1947, the first village meeting took place. In the same year, in one of the first high buildings in the new part of Norilsk, Gorstroy, the House of Pioneers was opened in the basement. Due to the fact, the whole street was called Pionerskaya. (Now it bears the name of Bohdan Hmelnitsky, and there is an art residence in the former building of the House of Pioneers.)
In 1952, the House of Pioneers moved to Komsomolskaya, 10. There it also settled down in a residential building, but it no longer occupied a basement, but specially designated premises.
Many cultural and public institutions (the Rodina cinema, the Taimyr restaurant, the House of Technology) were housed in residential buildings: this is how the authorities killed two birds with one stone – they settled people and carved out space for other city needs.
Shortly before the opening, on April 22, the combine’s director Vladimir Zverev in a special order listed the needs to be done in time for the opening of the Pioneers’ House. It also mentioned the exit from the new building to the Komsomolsky park, and the installation of furniture and mirrors, and the equipment of the cinema, and the selection of personnel.
The House of Pioneers had a library, a technical office with machine tools and workbenches, radio and electrical engineering offices. Brass and string orchestras, a ballet club, an aircraft model group, a drama club, handicrafts, chess, sculpture and fine arts circles, a photo club, and even a fairy tale room were planned. The House of Pioneers was a place of leisure for all Norilsk children for many years.
On February 1, 1970, the House of Pioneers and Schoolchildren, which had previously been under the jurisdiction of the Norilsk District Committee of Trade Unions, was transferred to the city department of public education. Now this date is considered the birthday of its successor – the Palace of Creativity of Children and Youth of Norilsk which is still happily operating.
In the last issue of the History spot photo project, we talked about the first sports club in Norilsk, organized in 1935.
For other issues of our photo project about the history of the city and the combine, go to the History spot section.
Follow us on Telegram, Instagram and Facebook.
Text: Svetlana Samohina, Photo: Nornickel Polar Division archive
