Opened at the beginning of the 20th century, the Hotel Metropol was like other grand hotels--the Plaza or the Ritz-- of this era, catering to an international clientele; then it served briefly as office space for the Bolsheviks until 1931 when they returned the hotel to its original function, again serving to impress outsiders (ambassadors and businessmen) with Russian cosmopolitanism. "This was the place where important foreign guests and well-known foreign immigrants were accommodated. At various times, the hotel hosted Bernard Shaw, Bertolt Brecht, housed Sergei Prokofiev, Alexander Vertinsky and his family. Within the period of 1950–1970, Mao Tse-tung, Marcello Mastroianni, Marlene Dietrich , John Steinbeck, Jean Marais, Paul Mauriat stayed in the hotel" (hotel website). See Amor Towles website with quotes from famous persons about this legendary hotel.
A prominent location, situated on Theatre Square diagonally across from the Bolshoi | ||
| The top register has tile panel mosaics by Mikhail Vrubel while two floors down there are relief sculptural figures. See Wiki media detail of the Princess of Dreams panel. |  |
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Art nouveau elevator and stairwell | ||
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The large banquet room--the restaurant no doubt mentioned in Amor Towles' A Gentleman from Moscow | ||
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Room at the mezzanine level with art nouveau railings and wall stencils |
| For other examples of art nouveau architecture and design on this site, see this index. |  |
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