Gorky Park was opened in 1928. It is located at Krymsky Val and situated just across the Moskva River from Park Kultury Metro Station. The Park was planned by Konstantin Melnikov, a world-famous Soviet avant-garde and constructivist architect. Gorky Park was created by the amalgamation of the extensive gardens of the old Golitsyn Hospital and the Neskuchny Palace and covers an area of 300 acres (120 ha) along the river.[1] History of Neskuchny Garden can be traced back to 1753 when it emerged at the area between Kaluzhskaya Zastava and Trubetskoy Moskva river-side estate. The neighboring area to Neskuchny Garden, from Krymsky Val to Neskuchny Garden was not given much attention right up until the 1920s. Initially, it was covered with park gardens, meadows and vegetable gardens, belonging to the owners of neighboring estates.It formed a wasteland by the end of the 19th century, which was used as a waste heap.
The First All-Russian Agricultural and Handicraft Industries Exhibition was opened in 1923 on the wasteland that had been cleared during the course of communist community work days. A resolution for the exhibition was passed on 19th October 1922 and the exhibition was opened one and a half years later on 19th May 1923. After bidding for the exhibition’s layout plan, which proposed four arrangements — Sokol, Khodynskoye Pole, Petrovsko-Razumovsky park and the river areas near Krymsky bridge — preference was given to the latter.
On 15th March 1928 by a resolution of the Presidium of the Moscow Council, the Agricultural and Handicraft Industries Exhibition was enlarged and transformed into the Central Park of Culture and Leisure — the country’s first park of its kind, which was referred to as an outdoor ‘cultural enterprise’. The name of M.A. Gorky was attributed to the park in 1932. The idea of a need for a central park of culture and leisure in Moscow arose in the late 1920s and was related to Moscow’s reconstruction with notions of a socialist ‘city of the future’.
Gorky Park has always reflected the spirit of time and social values. In the end of 20th century, concentration on sport, in best tradition of the Soviet era, has been replaced by the commercial after-perestroika mood. The time of amusement attractions, numerous small shashlik cafes, advertising banners and entrance-fee has begun. Nevertheless, the Park remained beloved by the people for its shadowed alleys. During the winter the footpaths flood over and freeze, which allows ice-skating around the park. Over the years the rides became decrepit, and the park territory was swamped with cheap attractions and cafes. New century brought new wind of change and the need to transform the Park’s concept.