Hotel Moskva (Moscow)

Hotel Moskva was a major hotel located in central Moscow, Russia, just opposite the former Moscow City Hall. The fourteen-story building was designed by Alexey Shchusev in the Stalinist-classical style and opened in December, 1935. It was lavishly decorated with objets d'art and mosaics by the finest Soviet artists (such as Eugene Lanceray).

The old hotel was notable for its four facades in quite different architectural styles. According to legend, four alternative designs were submitted to Stalin for his approval of this prestigious central Moscow project. He initialled the covering page simply as "approved"; since no one had the courage to ask him which of the styles he preferred, they were all incorporated. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/russian/entertainment/newsid_2078000/2078400.stm]

The hotel was demolished in 2004, and is being replaced with a modern replica, pretending to combine original exterior with an increased usable space. The new building was topped-out in the middle of 2008. The new hotel is scheduled to open in 2009, and to be operated by the Four Seasons chain.

A drawing of the Hotel Moskva is featured on the logo for Stolichnaya vodka [http://www.rian.ru/tournament/56557093-answers.html] .