Palace Temple House of Labor

[Jack Kollmann]

Charlotte Douglas wrote:
Can anyone tell me the location of the "Temple of Labor" in Moscow in 
1920?  It was the site of John Reed's funeral.
and then:
>Thank you everyone for your help.  As I now understand it, the building 
>was (and still is) on the Moscow River Embankment, further down from the 
>Kremlin toward Kitai gorod, on the same side of the river.
>It also seems from Emma Goldman's memoirs that in addition to Reed's 
>funeral in 1920, the hall was used for Kropotkin's funeral the next year.
>Charlotte

         Additional info:  The building(s) in question, at #7 
Moskvoretskaia naberezhnaia, on the left bank just below the Kitaigorodskii 
proezd, is a large complex of buildings built up over the 18th-20th 
cc.  Begun in Catherine II's reign and designed by K.I. Blank, the original 
classical core of the complex (1760s-1780s) was constructed as the 
Foundling Home (Vospitatel'ny dom) and school (see Brumfield, p. 319).  Its 
Moscow River facade stretches some 380 meters.  The complex was designed 
(but not finished in the 18th c.) to house up to 8,000 orphans.  In the 
19th c. it was expanded by several buildings and was used more as a school 
than an orphanage.  After the October Revolution all or part of the complex 
was transferred to the Vsesoiuznyi Tsentral'nyi Sovet Professional'nyikh 
Soiuzov and became known as the Dvorets soiuzov, appearing in translation 
variously as the "Palace" or "Temple" of Unions.  Lenin, of course, 
vystupil here in March 1919.

         In 1938 all or part of the complex became the Voennaia akademiia 
im. Dzerzhinskogo.

         I say "all or part" of the complex more than once above because 
I'm not familiar with the precise subdivisions of the complex and exactly 
how they were used and when, or how they are used at present.  Maps show a 
campus of numerous buildings at #7 extending the equivalent of approx. 3 
city blocks along the river from Kitaigorodskii proezd downstream to the 
Bol'shoi ustynskii most, and inland a full block to that section of 
Solianskii tupik that parallels the river.  Current photographs show a huge 
river facade of the original 18th-c. structure with central portico and 
belvedere above, crowned by a squared cupola and spire.

         Maybe someone else will be able to offer info on that part of the 
complex where John Reed lay in state and apparently where his funeral was 
held.  I'm guessing that it was some sort of ceremonial space in the 
central portion of Blank's original building.  Published photographs of his 
body lying in state don't show much of the room; the floor is ordinary 
parquet, nothing fancy.

Jack Kollmann
Stanford University

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