"Nowhere except in Mosselprom!"

The Mosselprom building in Moscow, accentuated by today's clear bright sky and cool weather, is "a monument to Russian constructivism and avantgarde architecture", and the first Soviet skyscraper, built in 1912-13 by the architect N.D. Strukov, was originally intended as a seven-story apartment house with restaurant.

Apparently hastily (and cheaply) constructed, it collapsed on March 22, 1913 - coincidentally, 101 years ago this week!  Strukov had a record of collapses, this being his third collapse, and he was given a six week jail sentence at the subsequent trial. The owner, the merchant Titov, and the real culprit because of his perceived stinginess, received a 100 ruble fine, also known as "a slap on the wrist".

It was rebuilt by 1917 and two floors added in 1923-1925 to house "Mosselprom", the Moscow Rural Cooperative Administration, "which combined flour, confectionery, and chocolate factories, breweries, and tobacco companies". The bottom floors housed the warehouse and offices, and the upper floors included accommodation for the workers.  The building (and the business) was also famous for the slogan, ""Нигде кроме, как в Моссельпроме! (Nowhere except in Mosselprom!)", intended to highlight the abundance of the new Soviet lifestyle.

The building reverted to an apartment building in the 1930s and currently houses a branch of the Russian Academy of Theatre Arts.