Neglinnaya Street, which takes its name from the river, runs parallel to Petrovka. The steep slope on the right hand side of the street is a reminder of the river, which was culverted in 1818. Historic Neglinnaya begins with No. 2 on the right, which is occupied by Shchepkin Moscow Theatre School. The building was constructed in the late 18th century by Kazakov as a military school for orphans of soldiers. Between 1821-1824 the assistant director of this school was reserve Lieutenant-Colonel Nikolai Tolstoy, the father of Lev Tolstoy.
In 1822 a theatrical school was opened with the help of M. Shchepkin. In the 1870s the school was directed by the playwright A. Ostrovsky. It was responsible for the education of many great actors, among them Yermolova, P. Sadovsky, Ostuzhev, Yablochkina, Plisetskaya, Lepeshinskaya. In 1980 a statue by Tarasenko was put up in Shchepkin's memory in the school courtyard, and it stands in the shade of several old trees which were planted by the actress Turchaninova and Pashennaya in the year of their graduation.
However, the main sight on Neglinnaya is the famous Sandunov Baths at No. 14. There is a romantic story linked to their being established, and in fact it took place in St. Petersburg. At the end of the 18th century the well-known comedian Sila Sandunov and the talented opera singer Yelizaveta Uranova were regular performers at the Imperial Theatre in St. Pfetersburg. The Empress herself was Yelizaveta's patron and even stood proxy for her mother when Yelizaveta married Sandunov. As a dowry the Empress made them a gift of diamonds. But the Empress was not the only admirer of Yelizaveta's talents. Vice-Chancellor Count Bezborodko paid her persistent attention, but all his efforts were in vain, and so he decided to take his revenge by worrying the life out of the Sandunovs. They were forced to move to Moscow. where they started to work for Maddocks' Theatre on Petrovskaya Square.
Soon afterwards, the actor had the idea of building a baths to improve his financial position. It was at this point that the Empress's diamonds played their part. Sandunov bought up some land cheaply near the drained Samotechny Canal, which is what Neglinnaya was called at that time, and then began buying up the land adjacent to it, and knocking down the houses which stood there. The marvellous baths were put up in 1808, and it was immediately apparent that no other baths in Moscow could compete with Sandunov's brainchild. He had studied the bathhouse business for a long time, and every detail of the baths was impeccable. They had a fashionable interior, sweet-smelling birch twigs, and courteous attendants. There were separate sections for the nobility and ordinary people. Soon he opened a very expensive family section. It was a tradition for the daughters of rich merchants to go to the Sandunov baths before their wedding and bathe in silver wash basins.
However, Sandunov himself only remained the owner of the baths which had made his name famous for a few years. After that they changed hands several times. and by the end of the 19th century they were inherited by the rich industrialist Madame Firsanova. By this time the baths had deteriorated badly and had become a loss-making business. Without any particular hope of success, Firsanova handed over the baths to her husband, the penniless nobleman A. Gonyetsky. He embraced the project with the same enthusiasm as Sandunov, and travelled throughout Europe to gather information on the business. In 1895 the old baths were replaced the talented opera singer Yelizaveta Uranova were regular performers at the Imperial Theatre in St. Pfetersburg. The Empress herself was Yelizaveta's patron and even stood proxy for her mother when Yelizaveta married Sandunov. As a dowry the Empress made them a gift of diamonds. But the Empress was not the only admirer of Yelizaveta's talents. Vice-Chancellor Count Bezborodko paid her persistent attention, but all his efforts were in vain, and so he decided to take his revenge by worrying the life out of the Sandunovs. They were forced to move to Moscow. where they started to work for Maddocks' Theatre on Petrovskaya Square.
Soon afterwards, the actor had the idea of building a baths to improve his financial position. It was at this point that the Empress's diamonds played their part. Sandunov bought up some land cheaply near the drained Samotechny Canal, which is what Neglinnaya was called at that time, and then began buying up the land adjacent to it, and knocking down the houses which stood there. The marvellous baths were put up in 1808, and it was immediately apparent that no other baths in Moscow could compete with Sandunov's brainchild. He had studied the bathhouse business for a long time, and every detail of the baths was impeccable. They had a fashionable interior, sweet-smelling birch twigs, and courteous attendants. There were separate sections for the nobility and ordinary people. Soon he opened a very expensive family section. It was a tradition for the daughters of rich merchants to go to the Sandunov baths before their wedding and bathe in silver wash basins.
However, Sandunov himself only remained the owner of the baths which had made his name famous for a few years. After that they changed hands several times. and by the end of the 19th century they were inherited by the rich industrialist Madame Firsanova. By this time the baths had deteriorated badly and had become a loss-making business. Without any particular hope of success, Firsanova handed over the baths to her husband, the penniless nobleman A. Gonyetsky. He embraced the project with the same enthusiasm as Sandunov, and travelled throughout Europe to gather information on the business. In 1895 the old baths were replaced.
