Okhotny Ryad (Moscow Metro)

Okhotny Ryad (Russian: Охотный ряд) is a station on the Sokolnicheskaya Line of the Moscow Metro.

The station was renamed Imeni Kaganovicha in honour of Lazar Kaganovich during the brief period between 25 November 1955 and 1957, when its original name was restored.

The task of wedging a metro station into the narrow space between two major buildings, the Hotel Moskva that has been re-built, and what is now the State Duma building, at a depth of only 8 metres (26 ft) without damaging their foundations was further complicated by the difficult soil conditions in the area, including numerous underground water channels.

A major setback occurred when accumulated rainwater broke through the vault before it had been completely sealed and flooded the station.

The architects, Yuri Revkovsky, N. Borov, and G. Zamskoy, employed a silvery marble from Italy for the finishing of the pylons, the only documented case where imported material was used in the Metro.

The facade of this building was redesigned by Dmitry Chechulin and originally incorporated sculptures of athletes which were modeled after performers from the Moscow Circus.

The vestibule's original entrance was built into the ground floor of Hotel Moskva, on the corner of Manezhnaya Square and Okhotny Ryad street.

The final addition came in 1997 when a new underground mall was opened under the Manezhnaya Square, a direct access was made possible from the 1959 network.

As the system grew, the original arrangement proved inadequate to handle the large passenger load and on 7 November 1974 a second transfer tunnel was opened.

Okhotny Ryad station platform