The project of the electric tram was approved by Odessa City Council in 1908, the same year the equipment of tracks and construction of stations began, and in 1910, first ways were put. Main tracks matched horse-drawn railway belonged to the Belgian society, so new building was mainly focused on the contact system and traction substations.

Building type: pavilion of the tram stop, electric substation
Style: late Art Nouveau (pavilion), Neoclassicism (substation)
Architects: A. B. Minkus , L. B. Belkin
Date of construction: 1910, 1912
Status: local architectural monument

Pavilion of the station

View from the central alley

According to Belgian project lines initially did not have any numbers (like horse-drawn railway), only names («Rishelevskaya — Khersonskaya», «Trading — Little Russian», etc.), but on the same line could go several routes and one route could run along different lines. During the end of 1910 and the first half of 1911 the most rapid construction of new tram lines and electrification of horse-drawn railway was conducting.

Lateral facade

On demand of the city government building was primarily carrying on the outskirts, but there were such lines in the center as «Greek» and «Langeron». By the mid of 1912 the formation of the tram network in the city center had been largely completed, the traffic on the Richelivskaya and Preobrazenskaya lines and in the direction to the port by Primorskaya Street and Near Mills had been opened, the construction lines by Uspenskaya and  Prokhorovskaya Streets was going to wind up, Slobodskoe depot was raising and soon Slobodskaya line had been opened.

The rear facade

One of the routes (№ 24), linked the Langeron-area with the city center, crossed Aleksandrovskiy Park and then followed along Sabanskiy Lane, went out Kanatnaya Street and  walked the entire length of the Zhukovskogo Street and terminated on Tiraspolskaya Square. The first stop on the route was next to the current central alley of the park, near the Aleksandrovskaya Pillar.The route number 24 was abolished in pre-war times, but stop pavilion and electrical substation (located opposite) were preserved perfectly.

The pavilion location of the  tram station on the map
https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msa=0&msid=216183657247131953276.0004d93bed27d4117e110&ie=UTF8&ll=46.47891,30.753417&spn=0,0&t=h&output=embed

The cooperation of the architect A. B. Minkus with the Belgian Joint Stock Company began in the mid 1900s.The architect successfully coped with the development of a number of model projects of tram stops and electric substations and elevated the office building of the Company in Vodoprovodnaya, 1. The pavilion, built in the Alexandrovskiy Park, was also assigned the type, but the structure itself was implemented in a single copy.

By the arrangement and configuration the structure can be compared with the pavilions of the type 1, one of which was located on the Greek area previously, the second — in Tiraspolskaya Street (both demolished ). In contrast, the pavilion in the Aleksandrovskiy Park has rounded corners from the line side and noticeably smaller size. In the center of the hipped roof the  light superstructure with square shape is equipped. It has a great importance in the general outline of the building. Having passed through the window superstructure the light fell into a small room for a supervisor or cashier, which volume was surrounded on three sides by a large canopy on concrete pillars.

Light superstructure

In Soviet times the structure was rebuilt for administrative purposes, the perimeter of the canopy was filled up by the wall. Despite that the hall kept outlines of the built-up apertures, console and smaller-scale decoration.

Decorative elements

 
##Electric substation
Electrical substation, probably erected at the same time as the pavilion, presents a small elegant building in the restrained neoclassical style.

View from the alley

park-shevchenko-train-station-14 Shevchenko’s Park. Tram stop. Architecture of Odessa.
Cap of the semicolumn

The broad iron double door from the alley side recalls the building period. This door is an example of pure geometric Art Nouveau.

Door

Nowadays the construction is not in exploiting, being in quite dilapidated condition.

The remains of furniture imbedded in the wall

Location of the pavilion of electrical substation on the map
https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msa=0&msid=216183657247131953276.0004d93be73d3f989dddc&ie=UTF8&ll=46.479172,30.753664&spn=0,0&t=h&output=embed

 
References and archives

• «Architects of Odessa». V. Pilyavskii;
• «Buildings, structures, monuments of Odessa and their architects». V. Pilyavskii;
• History of Odessa tram «»- http://odessatrolley.com/ Odessa on wheels»»
• Article in the blog «Antique»
  Antique.

Authors

• Alexander Levitsky, ​​art director and colorist
• Dmitry Shamatazhi, photographer and composer
• Maria Sopkalova, translator
• Marina Tomenko, editor

1912 Aleksandrovskiy Park architecture of small forms Belkin L.B. Belgian joint stock company Minkus A.B. Art Nouveau Neoclassicism Odessa Tram Pavilion of the stop. Shevchenko Park late Art Nouveau