As the subscribers of the group – Raisa Shkadova and Yulia Belavina answered correctly – the street is called Klenova, because maples were originally planted along it. Mikhail Pilyaev writes in 1887 in the book “Old Petersburg” about the construction of the Mikhailovsky Castle: “From the pavilions there was a wide maple alley, dividing the Mikhailovsky Manege on the one side and the building of the former superintendent school on the other.” On the General Plan, executed by V. Brenna around 1800, an alley is drawn between the arena and the stable. Whether this plan was implemented in view of the death of Paul I is unclear.

We can say for sure that during the redevelopment of the surroundings of Mikhailovsky Castle by the architect K. Rossi in the mid 1820s, this avenue was either planted or ennobled. In front of the castle, which at that moment was occupied by the Engineering School, a parade ground was arranged, on the sides of which Karl Rossi planned two squares. According to Rossi’s plan, in perspective of the Maple Alley, a view of the Mikhailovsky Castle from Manezhnaya Square was opened.

On the plan of St. Petersburg, dated 1880, the Maple Alley is well read. It even represents not just an alley landing, but the decoration of the eastern entrance to the Mikhailovsky Manege. An alley passed from Manezhnaya Square to Engineering Street. At the end of the 19th century, due to rapid changes in urban development, plans usually lagged behind reality. So on the city plan with the changes introduced in 1881, the Maple Alley is blocked by the passage between the arena and the stable, and the northern part is partially built up.

By 1887, the Maple Alley ceases to exist as a passage, and its name is partially transferred to a section from Engineering Street to Mikhailovsky Castle, which is called Klenovaya Street. But this is a completely different story. To be continued…

#GardensoftheRussianMuseum #MikhailovskyGarden #summergarden #Russianmuseum #rusmuseum_gardens #igardens