Bolshaia Pokrovskaia Street

Bolshaia Pokrovskaia Street; formerly Sverdlov, informally called Pokrovka or Sverdlovka, connects Minin and Pozharsky Square with Gorky Square and crosses the historical central part of the city. A favorite place for strolling and shopping, Bolshaia Polrovskaia is a pedestrian street closed to all traffic except emergency vehicles and delivery vans. It takes approximately half an hour to cover the distance from the Kremlin to Gorky Square if you do not stop for shopping.

Historically, Pokrovka was one of the first streets in the city. Today the street is remarkable for its architecture. Most buildings date back to the nineteenth or the very beginning of the twentieth century.

• N1
  The former building of the City Council, designed by the academician architect V. Zeidler in French baroque. At present, it houses the Regional Trade Union Center and a department store.
• N2
  The former building of the Verkhne-Posadskie market stalls. After the 1904-05 reconstruction it housed the municipal public library. Busts of Pushkin, Dostoevsky, and Tolstoy were placed in the niches of the portico. The Exhibition Hall, with the main entrance on Minin Square, an art salon and the Kharbin Chinese restaurant, with its entrance on Pokrovskaia Street, are located here.
• N4
  You may visit a casino here.
• N7
  The bar "Edem".
• N8
  
  • An art salon and museum displaying works of the famous nineteenth century Russian photographer, Andrei O. Karelin.
  • Synagogue.
• N24
  
  • Aeroflot Airline Agency.
  • "Le Monti" Store.
• N26
  The State Bank (1913). Currency Exchange. Famous architects competed for the right to design the bank, and B. Pokrovsky's design was chosen. It is a peerless building in Russian architecture. History, done in the modern style, typical for the beginning of the century. The bank's interior is also remarkable. The painting on the walls and the vault in the hall were designed by the famous artist and illustrator of Russian folk tales, Ivan Bilibin and executed by the Pashkov brothers.
• N35
  
  • The Western Store.
  • The Vitalich Restaurant.
• N35
  An art salon.
• N37
  The University's Department of Applied Physics and Microelectronics.
• N39a
  The "Orlenok" Cinema.
• N32
  
  • The Kolisei Restaurant, one of the best in the city.
  • A drug store.
• N39b
  The Nizhni Novgorod Puppet Theater; performances for adults and children.
• N41
  "Khudozhestvennye promysly" - Khokhloma, Palekh and other folk crafts. The Museum of Handicrafts of the Nizhni Novgorod region is on the top floor.
• N53
  The "Oktiabr" Cinema
• N54
  The post office. The central post office in Nizhni Novgorod has three entrances:
  • inter-city telephone (on Gorky Square)
  • telegraph, fax, letters (on Vorobeva Street)
  • parcels section (on Zvezdinka Street)
• Gorky Square, 2 "Knigi", a bookstore.