On the territory of the Summer Garden, on the site of the current Coffee House, there was the Grotto pavilion, built in 1714-1725 and now the lost monument of the Petrine era. Who was his architect is unknown; however, they suggest that it was one of the four famous architects of that time: A. Schlüter, G.I. Mattarnovi, N. Miketti, M.G. Zemtsov.
In 1801, the Grotto was partially dismantled by order of Paul I. After his assassination, the heir to the throne, Alexander I, ordered the restoration of the structure, but there were not enough drawings and plans for this. On April 9, 1826, it was finally decided to rebuild the dilapidated Grotto. The initial project of L.I. Charlemagne was not approved and the order passed to K.I. Rossi, who created the Coffee House, using the foundation and walls of the previous structure.

In 1999, excavation work was carried out at the walls of the Coffee House to restore the drainage system. At the same time, numerous fragments of the Grotto were found: bricks from which the walls were folded, bricks in the shape of petals – details of corner columns, fragments of an ornament and shells.

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