Water tower (Yekaterinburg)

The first railways in Yekaterinburg were built in 1878. In the late 1880s, a water tower was built for the needs of workshops.

For decades, the tower was part of the industrial zone (in the territory of the Historical Square of 1723 until 1957 various enterprises worked). In 1929, on the basis of railway workshops, the Car Repair Plant named after Vojvodina. During the Great Patriotic War, one of the sites of the Moscow tank-building plant No. 37 operated on the territory of Plotinka. During this period, a factory photo laboratory was located on the first floor of the tower, and the second floor of the tower did not function.

In 1946, at the initiative of Boris Denisov, production engineer at Plant No. 37, the walls of the metal pond were cut off and the bottom of the tank was covered with floorboards. The second floor of the tower was converted into a living room. In March 1947, the Denisov family moved to the second floor, and the tower became a residential building. A few years later, another family settles on the ground floor. After the Denisovs move, the Lopata family lives on the second floor. After the closure of the plant in 1957, the resettlement of residents begins. Finally, the tower was settled in the second half of the 1960s.

In 1972-1973, all the wooden parts were replaced in the tower. Since 1973, a souvenir shop was located on the ground floor, which closed a few years later. ^[1] . For several years the tower was empty.

In 1995, the tower was officially transferred to the Yekaterinburg Museum of History ^[2] . The blacksmith Alexander Lysyakov created an exhibition of Ural metal, and from that time on the tower housed the exposition "Metal Shop", introducing household and art metal of past centuries. The first guardian of the tower was the museum employee, artist Viktor Mahotin, after the death of V. Mahotin in 2002, the photographer and artist Ivan Ryzhkov became the guardian of the tower.

The second floor of the tower was closed to visitors from the 60s due to the emergency condition of the stairs, the Metal Shop exhibition worked seasonally, from May to October, since there was no heating in the tower.

Since July 2018, the Yekaterinburg Guest Center has been operating on the ground floor for tourists and residents of the city, where you can buy a “Guest Card” (Sity Pass), get advice on museums and attractions of the city, buy authentic souvenirs and even have a cup of coffee.

On November 13, 2018, after the installation of the new staircase, a unique museum exposition on the history of the tower itself and the Historical Square opened on the second ^[3] . Part of the exhibition is dedicated to the history of the inhabitants of the tower and its first keepers. The main exhibit of the museum exposition is a riveted metal tank of the 19th century, first opened for review from 1947.