Chistye Prudy (Moscow Metro)

For other uses, see Chistye Prudy.

Chistye Prudy Moscow Metro station
Station statistics
Address	Basmanny District Central Administrative Okrug Moscow
Coordinates	55°45′53.44″N 37°38′17.97″E / 55.7648444°N 37.638325°E / 55.7648444; 37.638325
Lines	Sokolnicheskaya Line
Connections	Trolleybus: 9, 48 Tram: A, 3, 39
Structure	Deep pylon tri-vault
Depth	35 metres (115 ft)
Levels	1
Platforms	1 island platform
Tracks	2
Parking	No
Bicycle facilities	No
Baggage check	No
Other information
Opened	15 May 1935
Code	008
Owned by	Moskovsky Metropoliten
Formerly	Kirovskaya (1935-1990)
Traffic
Passengers (2009)	11,736,210
Services
Preceding station   Moscow Metro   Following station Lubyanka toward Yugo-Zapadnaya Sokolnicheskaya Line Krasnye Vorota toward Ulitsa Podbelskogo Kitay-gorod toward Novoyasenevskaya Kaluzhsko-Rizhskaya Line Transfer at: Turgenevskaya Sukharevskaya toward Medvedkovo Trubnaya toward Maryina Roshcha Lyublinsko-Dmitrovskaya Line Transfer at: Sretensky Bulvar Chkalovskaya toward Maryino

Chistye Prudy (Russian: Чи́стые пруды́, English: Clean Ponds) is a Moscow Metro station in the Basmanny District, Central Administrative Okrug, Moscow. It is on the Sokolnicheskaya Line, between Lubyanka and Krasnye Vorota stations. Chistye Prudy was opened on 15 May 1935 as a part of the first segment of the Metro. The station lies beneath Myasnitskaya Street, close to Turgenevskaya Square and the Clean Ponds, after which the station was named.

History and Design

Though planned to be a three-vaulted station with a full-length central hall (similar to Krasnye Vorota and Okhotny Ryad), Chistye Prudy was built instead according to a London Underground type design with two passages at either end of the station connecting the platforms. The outer platform vaults were finished to give the impression that a central hall did in fact exist, with what appeared to be a row of dark marble pylons. However, all of the archways except those at either end of the platform were barricaded. The architect of the initial station was Nikolai Kolli.

During World War II the station was closed and its platforms were fenced off with plywood for use as the headquarters of the Joint Staff and PVO Air Defense. All trains bypassed this station.

vintage view

Chistye Prudy's central hall was built in 1971 so that the station could become a transfer point to the Kaluzhsko-Rizhskaya Line. The architects for this project were N. Shukhareva, L. Popov, and A. Fokina. The new portion of the station was finished to resemble the original sections as closely as possible, maintaining the its original character. Escalators were built in the centre of the platform to connect to Turgenevskaya.

Chistye Prudy is finished with dark grey Ufalei and white Koelga marble, with a dark granite platform. In 1989 the station's outer walls were refinished with marble rather than ceramic tile to approximate the original design even more closely.

The station was named Kirovskaya from its opening until 1990, and there is still a bronze bust of Sergey Kirov at the end of the platform. In 1992 it was briefly called Myasnitskaya, but renamed a few days later into its current name.

Transfers

From this station it is possible to transfer to Turgenevskaya station of the Kaluzhsko-Rizhskaya Line and to Sretensky Bulvar station of the Lyublinsko-Dmitrovskaya Line.

The Station Surroundings

The name "Chistye Prudy" also refers to the neighborhood surrounding the Metro station. This area is sometimes called Chistye Prudy or Pokrovka (referring to the street by the same name). In the 16th century, Pokrovskye Vorota (Pokrov Gates) stood at the current intersection of Pokrovka Street and Chistoprudny Boulevard.

The Chistye Prudy neighborhood is famous for the beautiful Chistoprudny Boulevard and the pond after which the area is called—Chisty Prud (Clean Pond). In medieval times, several ponds stood on the location of the current single pond. They were used as refuse dumps and were fittingly called Griyaznye Prudy (Dirty Ponds). Under Peter the Great's reign, his friend and advisor Menshikov dredged the ponds, unified them into one pond and renamed them Chistye Prudy (Clean Ponds).

There is the only tram line in Moscow Center near there.

References