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Famed Moscow hotel to be torn down and rebuilt
June 28, 2002
MOSCOW (AP) -- City authorities decided Friday to raze the Stalin-era Hotel Moskva, known to drinkers worldwide for its picture on the label of Stolichnaya vodka, and replace it with a structure based more closely on the architect's original plans.
The massive hotel, near the Bolshoi Theater and State Duma, the lower house of parliament, has been a Moscow landmark since 1935 -- and a curiosity.
Visitors gazing at the building from Manezh Square often sense that something isn't quite right, then realize that the two wings flanking the central columned section are of similar width but different architectural styles. One side has large windows framed by prominent cornices; the other has smaller less-adorned windows.
Architect Alexei Shchusev reportedly presented a blueprint showing the alternative window styles to Soviet dictator Josef Stalin. Instead of choosing between window types, Stalin simply signed off on the plan, and builders, unwilling to question Stalin, went ahead with the unbalanced plan.
Russian news reports said the new version of the hotel, approved by the construction council of the mayor's office, would be built according to Shchusev's plans, but didn't specify which plan.
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