#ARCTIC. #SIBERIA. THIS IS TAIMYR. Hotels in the twin houses, in addition to their direct purpose, also served as hostels for engineers. In any case, it is known for certain that the family of Nikolay Urvantsev lived in one of them. It was convenient – hotel service in home accommodation.
When the construction of the new city began, a new hotel was also planned there. It opened on November 10, 1960 at 2 Gvardeyskaya square.
The beautiful new building that completed the ensemble of the square was among the first in Norilsk to design a passenger elevator. There were single, double and triple rooms on the floors – for a total of 220 guests. True, only 18 rooms had a bath, the rest – ‘without amenities’, but at that time it was the norm.
Together with the hotel, ‘neighbors’ moved into the building: the designers were located in the right wing, and an automatic telephone exchange was located in the basement. So pretty soon there was no longer enough space for all the guests: folding beds appeared in the corridors, ironing boards and the TV room. And this despite the fact that the hotel had two branches, also constantly packed to capacity.
Business guests, among those who were more important, were accommodated on Gvardeyskaya street, where the name of the hotel – Norilsk – proudly shone above the entrance. It was that front facade with a brightly shining inscription that for many years became a symbol that met and saw off visitors. By the way, letters appeared in the fall of 1961 – they were the first experience of illuminated advertising in Norilsk.
As a result, a nine-storey dormitory at 39a Talnahskaya street was given over for a hotel, with an administrative block with the Norilsk restaurant attached to it. A storey was added to the beautiful building on Gvardeiskaya square, and in the mid-1980s the management of the combine moved there.
In the last issue of the History spot photo project, we talked about the fact that the Lenin cinema was initially called World.
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Text: Svetlana Samohina, Photo: Nornickel Polar Division archive
