In 1872 Willies sold the property to Ivan Federovich Alexandrovsky who then hired Pavel Suzor, who was already very active in this part of the city construction, to rebuild the structure in eclectic style which some say is reminiscent of 17 century Parisian architecture. After this the building was referred to as the Ivan Federovich Alexandrovsky Tennant House.The rebuilding was executed in two phases first the court yard area in 1872 and then the facade adding two floors as well as the mansard in 1878.The writer Nikolai Leskov lived here in a rented apartment from 1877 to 1879 in the same period he wrote "Sin- glethought" (Odnodum, 1879)
Another architect was also involved in 1896 A. Bertels probably in relation to remodeling work associated with the Tula Land Guarantee Bank which had its main offices here from 1882 until the Bolshevik coup d’etat 1917. From 1911 to 1912 the Herald of Aeronautics (or Aeronautical Herald, Vestnik Vozduhoplaniya), one of Russia’s first aviation and space exploration magazines had its offices at 63 Nevsky.
Ivan Federovich Alexandrovsky
In his youth, Alexander was fond of painting and not without success. In 1837 the Academy of Arts awarded him the title of "non-classical artist" and Alexander began working as a art teacher (drawing and sketching) in the gymnasium. Meanwhile, the young artist was drawn to the technical sciences, especially in the field of chemistry, optics and mechanics.
In the middle of the XIX century photography was becoming popular , Alexander ventured in this emerging new medium which both involved chemistry and artistic talent and turned into new business. In the early 1850-ies he finally left teaching and opened a photo studio. From now on his business card read: Ivan Alexander, the artist-photographer, private studio, St. Petersburg, Nevsky Prospect, the house number 22, apt. Number 45. interestingly enough he did not choose Nevsky 63 to locate his business.
In-depth knowledge not only in the field of photography, but also of chemistry and optics allowed Alexander to achieved great success in the new field (probably using the collodion process) and made his studio the best in the capital and eventually became a very profitable enterprise.
Alexander continues to study science, interested in various fields of technology, especially shipbuilding. A Turning point in his life began in 1853, when in the summer shortly before the Crimean War Alexander visited London for a photo studio, where he not only saw a formidable armada of steam ships, but also heard that the fleet was preparing was to sail to the shores of the Crimea, "to teach Russian a lesson".
Knowing the low technical level of Russia's Black Sea Fleet, Ivan could not remain indifferent and decided to create a submarine. In 1862, Marine Scientific Committee approved the draft and in 1863 the ship was built, it had a displacement of 352 tons when surfaced and 362 tons when fully submerged,an iron hull with thick plating 9 - 12 mm, viewing windows for the bridge, two pneumatic engines rated 117 hp each, twin screws (propellers), vertical and stern hydroplanes as well as a high powered air compressor.
The air form the compressors was stored in 200 cast-iron cylinders at a pressure of 60 to 100 atm each cylinder was made up of thick-walled steel pipes with a diameter of 60 mm with a capacity of about 6-10 m3 of air per cylinder. This compressed air was used to power the pnematic engines, provide air to the crew and blow the water out of the 11-ton main ballast tanks, excess air exited the submarine through a pipe fited with a non return valve. The Use of compressed air to blow the Ballast tanks was revolutionay and is still used to this day in modern submarines.
The Sub was also fitted with two boyancy mines connected to each other with an elastic cable, thus the mines connected to each other were released under the enemy ship and floated up on either side of its hull. The mines were detonated using an electrical device fed from batteries after the submarine had time to distance itself from the target. The Submarine was transfered to Kronstadt in 1866 sucessfully tested and dived to 9 m for 16 hours with crew as mentioned in a sea trial report by Alexander in 1868.
Unfortunately his submarine had some serious down falls it could not achieve speeds of more than 1.5 knots underwater which in turn made the diveplanes practically useless and could not ensure constant depth of the submarine, it also had a very limited range about 4.8 km. Eventually the sub was tested to a depth of 30m and imploded under the pressure luckily the test was made without crew.Interestingly enough you can find what looks like a family crest on Nevsky 63 facade and clearly you can see the outline of a submerged submarine as well as a floating mine and a wing which may symbolize swiftness and protection. Above the crest you can note a crown which is a symbol of nobility even though this coat of arms is not registered anywhere, we know that the Tsar Alexander the 2nd bestowed him with the 4th degree of the Order of St. Vladimir which gave his cavalier right to hereditary nobility. Sadly the precursor of his time ended up broke and died in the hospital for the poor.
Willie Yakov (James)Vasilievich,(1768-1854, St. Petersburg) was a baronet(1819)organiser of military medical service, Doctor of Medicine(1794), court medic (1799), honourable member of St. Petersburg Academy of Science (1814), full Secret Councillor (1841). He immigrated to Russia from Scotland. On graduating from the Faculty of Medicine of the Edinburgh University (1790) he entered the Russian service. In 1806-54 he was the Main Medical Inspector of the Russian Army; in 1812-36 Willie was director of the Medical Department of the Military Ministry. In 1808-38 he was president of the Medical Surgical Academy, transforming it into a leading scientific and educational institution in Russia. The main directions of his research and practice centred on military medical administration, military field surgery, military hygiene, etc. He is the author of the book entitled “Pharmacopeia of the Russian Military” (1818), and editor of the first medical scientific journal in Russia, entitled “General Journal of Medical Science” (1811-16). In 1823 Willie founded the Military-Medical Journal. He was buried in Volkovskoe Lutheran Cemetery. The building of the clinics belonging to the Medical Surgical Academy were erected with the money he left in his inheritance, Mikhailovskaya Clinical Hospital was built in memory of the Baronet Willie (1874). In front of the main facade of the Medical Surgical Academy the bronze bust of Willie was installed in 1859 (sculptors D.I. Jensen, architect A.I. Stakenschneider; in 1964, it was transferred to the garden behind the building of the former Mikhailovskaya Clinical Hospital at 5 Bolshoy Sampsonievsky Avenue).
Pavel Yulievich Suzor (Russian: Павел Юльевич Сюзор) (1844–1919) was a Russian architect, president of the Architects Society and count. Suzor graduated from the Saint Petersburg Imperial Academy of Arts in 1866. He started to work for the city council in 1873, and in 1883 he started to teach at the Saint Petersburg Institute of Civil Engineering. Suzor practiced Eclecticism and Art Nouveau in his designs.In 1903 Suzor became chairman and president of the Architects Society. In 1907 he cofounded the Museum of Old Saint Petersburg, located at his own house. Pavel was also a supporter of homeopathyan and honorary member of the St. Petersburg Society of Homeopaths since 1899.
Over 80 buildings of his design can be seen at present (apartment houses, baths, orphanages, hospitals, academic and bank buildings, churches and industrial production facilities).
From the 1870s, he continuously employed new techniques of structural organization for apartment houses, broad windows, multi-storied bay windows, corner-towers. These enlarged elements of a three-dimensional composition, accentuating the silhouette of streets and blocks.
Suzor's most significant creations are considered to be the building of the join-stock company Singer and Co. Nevsky Prospect 28, 1902-04, sculptor А.G. Adamson, now Dom Knigi bookstore, where a metal frame was first applied. He was Buried at Smolenskoe Lutheran Cemetery.
Nikolai Semyonovich Leskov (Russian: Николай Семёнович Лесков, 16 February [O.S. 4 February] 1831 — 5 March [O.S. 21 February] 1895) was a Russian journalist, novelist and short story writer, who also wrote under the pseudonym M. Stebnitskiy. By many Russians he is considered "the most Russian of all Russian writers".Born in Gorokhovo, Oryol, he began his education at the Oryol lyceé. His father's death and the subsequent loss of his inherited property in an 1846 fire forced the young Nikolai to suspend his studies at the age of 15. Leskov served two years as a clerk in Oryol criminal court and then was transferred to Kiev as assistant clerk in the army recruiting bureau. There he lived at the house of his uncle, who was a professor of medicine. He read widely in the fields of philosophy and economics, studied Polish and Ukrainian, and joined the liberal-minded circles of the old city. In 1853 he married Olga Smirnova; they had one son and one daughter. Between the years 1857 and 1860 he worked in estate management for an English firm and travelled in remote regions of Russia.
Later Leskov considered these years crucial for his development as a writer. After moving to Moscow he separated from his wife and started to publish articles in magazines.
His literary career began in 1861 when he began working for a journal in Saint Petersburg. He published his first prose work, Pogassee Delo, the next year, and his first novel, Nekuda, in 1864.His main works include The Enchanted Wanderer (1873), Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk (1865) (which was later made into an opera), The Tale of Cross-eyed Lefty from Tula and the Steel Flea (1881), and the novel Cathedral Folk (1872).
The Tula Land Guarantee Bank (тульский поземельный банк) also refered to as "Banque Fonciére de St. Petersbourg-Toula" and "st. Petersburg-Tula Agrar-Bank" Offered loans for mortage of real estate.
