The Museum of Urban Life has opened in Irkutsk, and its exhibition, according to the organizers, has no equal in the city. Visitors can see authentic furniture, tableware, clothing, children's toys, photographs and postcards from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The museum building itself is also of special value, a monument of history and architecture, moved and carefully restored with the facade decor and carvings recreated.
As the city administration press service reports, the exhibition presented in the new museum is unique; there is nothing like it in Irkutsk anymore.At the museum opening ceremony were present the Mayor of Irkutsk, Vladimir Yakubovsky, the Chairman of the City Duma, Andrey Labygin, the Chair of the Committee on Social Policy and Culture of the Irkutsk administration, Valentina Voblikova, deputies of the City Duma, as well as representatives of the city’s creative intelligentsia. The museum features authentic furniture, tableware, clothing, children’s toys, photographs, and postcards from the late 19th to early 20th centuries. “The opening of the Museum of Urban Life is a significant event in the life of the city,” emphasized Mayor Vladimir Yakubovsky. “Another building has regained its historical appearance and has adorned our city.”
As Teleinform reports, the building that houses the Museum of Urban Life is a unique monument of history and architecture from the late 19th to early 20th centuries. In 1909, it was owned by Fyodor Polkanov. In 2006, the Irkutsk Region Heritage Preservation Center moved the building to the grounds of the historical and memorial complex “The Decembrists in Irkutsk.” After restoration, the traditional facade decor of the Polkanov house, the friezes under the roof overhang, and the woodcarving were restored.