Boys' and Girls' Gymnasiums (Law Institute)

Take a look at the western side of the square. This building explains the shape of the entire space. According to the initial plan by Makarov, the square was supposed to be radial, with a church in the middle. The church was never built, but in 1878 construction began on the men's gymnasium, followed a year later by the women's gymnasium, and they were completed in 1882 and 1883 respectively. There were six blocks, built in stages, and they occupied the entire western side. The radial square turned into a horseshoe - and that is how it remains to this day. The project was designed by military engineer Yanchevsky, with construction and adjustments along the way managed by Belokha and Dubrovin. A street used to run between the two gymnasiums toward the cathedral, so the blocks also functioned as gateway to it. The architecture shows features of Classicism mixed with Renaissance elements: a clear division of floors, the use of the architectural orders, rustication, and arched windows. The rustication works cleverly here - it stylistically binds two separate buildings into a single whole. Next comes the reason why this place is worth remembering. In September 1920, Turkestan University was established, and these very two former gymnasium buildings became its first home. A separate campus was planned for the university, and in 1921 the master plan was drawn up by none other than Fyodor Shehtel - the chief architect of Russian Art Nouveau, known for the Yaroslavsky Station and the Ryabushinsky Mansion. The plan remained on paper. In the 1930s, the buildings were remodeled for the Central Asian State University: a third floor was added, and the gaps between the blocks, which previously stood separately, were filled in. The window decorations on the added floor were simplified, and the shaped pediments were not replicated. Therefore, what you see is not quite the gymnasiums: it is their silhouette, enlarged by a story and fused into a single unit. Today, this is the Law Institute.