Residential building of Dmitry Dmitriyevich Mitrofanov

The mansion on Vodovoznaya Street is, of course, known to all Bakuvians. What is its history? But in old Baku, everyone knew about this house on the corner of the former Vodovoznaya (now named for the poet Almaz Ildirim) and Orlovskaya (now named for the composer Said Ali oghlu Rustamov) Streets. It was owned by the famous oil industrialists Dmitry Dmitrievich Mitrofanov and Moisey Mikhailovich Mikhailov.

By the way, Vodovoznaya Street, on whose corner the building stands, was of vital importance for all of Baku, because from here, from wells drilled in the rocky Chemberekend soil, they took drinking water and transported it in barrels throughout the city. Hence its original name - Vodovoznaya (water carrier) Street.

Dmitry Dmitrievich Mitrofanov, son of a poor Astrakhan family, moved to Baku in the wake of the «oil boom». In 1897, together with his partners Moisey Mikhailovich Mikhailov and Vladimir Fyodorovich Gubin, he founded the small «Motovilikha» oil company. And although the field had only five wells and a dozen or two workers, the work was done well and business expanded rapidly: in 1909, «Motovilikha» produced up to 880,000 poods of oil per year.

In 1906, another large company began producing oil, this one was named after Dmitry Dmitrievich Mitrofanov himself.

The Mitrofanovsky mansion took four years to build: from 1898 to 1902. Quite an impressive period for the time. Like many stately homes of that era, it sprawled across a whole block, soaring upwards with a dome and spire.

The author of the project was a prominent Baku architect of German origin, Johann Wilhelm Edel (1863 - 14.02.1932).

If most old Baku houses are characterized by eclectic architecture, original mixtures of various architectural styles and trends, then the Mitrofanov house is distinguished by the imposing classical style of the French neo-Renaissance, a clear delineation of the floors, from heavy ground floor to lightweight upper. The original solution of the corner is crowned with a majestic corrugated dome.