The first skyscraper of the USSR

It turns out to be near Yekaterinburg (in those years Sverdlovsk) Back in the first half of the twentieth century, there were all chances to become the center of Soviet high–rise construction - construction of a 34-storey high-rise (140 m) was started here. Unfortunately, the project could not be fully implemented.

At the very beginning of Soviet rule, buildings in the constructivist style began to be erected in Sverdlovsk one after another. And a crazy idea arose – to catch up, and maybe even overtake the bourgeois west. In 1927, a competition was held among architects to design a House of Industry. As a result, they chose the work of Daniil Fridman and Gleb Glushchenko, who, among other things, planned to place a berth for airships on the roof of the future skyscraper, which is part of the House of Industry!

Construction began in 1931 with the construction of a low–rise building near the intersection of Malyshev and Mamina-Sibiryak streets. Already in mid–July, a foundation pit was dug for the high-rise part, and in early August, the slabs were filled in. A year later, four floors of the skyscraper were almost ready. However, by 1934, difficult times had come in the country, and the Sverdlovsk government decided to slow down construction. In 1935, trouble occurred – due to a fire, the skyscraper lost the last two floors - out of the five built. The floors affected by the fire were demolished, the idea of the first Sverdlovsk skyscraper was buried under the ruins.

After the war, the construction of the low–rise part of the building resumed - already for the needs of the radio factory. The original project has changed significantly. In total, the construction took about 40 years. The remaining three floors of the failed skyscraper were completed to 12. This building can be seen today behind the Yekaterinburg Puppet Theater. Well, the former House of Industry is now home to one of Russia's largest enterprises in the field of development and manufacture of control systems and electronic equipment for rocket and space technology – NPO Automation named after N. A. Semikhatov.