In each locality of our world there are unique architectural objects that are not particularly attractive, but, at the same time, have a huge historical value. Such architectural structures are attractive with a special style and history of origin. On the territory of the Odessa region, one of the similar facilities is the Baltic fire tower.
Prehistory
Balta, like many other settlements, repeatedly burned. Large-scale fires destroyed residential buildings, administrative buildings and entire neighborhoods. The people of the city were concerned that the local fire brigade did not manage to arrive on time to the place of fire. Accordingly, the fire quickly spread and covered large areas.
For the first time the inhabitants of the city started talking about the need to erect a lookout tower in 1892. These conversations began after Balta, once again, suffered from a large-scale fire. But, unfortunately, then no one even considered this issue. The city administration repeatedly appealed to the authorities of the province with a request to allow the construction of such a structure.
The response of the provincial authorities was quite simple. The city leadership pointed out that there is simply no money for the construction of the observation tower. Accordingly, there can be no talk of any construction.
In 1921, another major fire occurred. In this regard, the question of building a watch-tower was raised again. The authorities of the province took a more careful look at the solution of this question. But, as it turned out, it was not so easy to build a lookout tower.
The whole point is that the fire unit was located on the former territory of the castle of the princes Lubomirski. A small, rather dilapidated structure was allocated to the fire department. The main problem was that this building was built on a small, and not a solid foundation. Accordingly, the observation tower, which should be quite high, simply could not resist on such a foundation. The tower is located next to the part.
It was decided to involve in the development of project documentation a professional architect from Odessa. The famous architect Malinovsky agreed to develop a project for such a unique structure. As you know, this should have been the first reinforced concrete structure. Despite the fact that the construction needed the city as air, the construction progressed rather slowly. But it was at this moment that Balta was not simply joined to the Moldovan AR, but also became its capital. This event spurred construction. In connection with the fact that this was the first such building, the best builders of Odessa were involved in the project: Granik, Vetoshkin, Selikhov, Shapiro and Grinberg. Given that previously such structures were not erected, the contract stipulated that the builders should perform the work strictly in accordance with the architect's plan. The names of the builders are carved on the wall of the tower. They can be seen to the right of the entrance to the tower.
Features of the Stall
The depth of the basement is 7 m. More concrete was used for its construction than for the entire structure. The height of the tower is 29 m. The diameter of the round viewing platform, located at the very top, is 3 m. The height of the enclosure is 1.2 m. You can access the observation deck through the hatch located in the floor. To the site leads a reinforced concrete staircase, which consists of 117 steps. Interesting is that every six steps is a small area. Accordingly, 20 similar sites were constructed, between the spans.
An important design feature can be considered an established large flagpole. But, it was used for other purposes. At that time the city was divided into four parts. That is, even then the so-called microdistricts were created. Smotrovoy, after discovering a hotbed of fire, signaled to the residents and the fire brigade, that an ignition had occurred. To do this, he raised a certain number of balls. That is, for example, if a fire occurred in the microdistrict number four, then the observation room raised four balls.
In order to notify the fire brigade, the duty officer had to tug at the bell's rope. After that, with the help of a trunk pipe, he reported on what had happened to the guard's chief. At a later time, a telephone was installed on the observation tower.
Personal opinion
Unfortunately, in the territory of Balta there are almost no ancient structures. In this regard, the fire tower has a special historical significance. Personally, I believe that the city authorities are simply obliged to preserve this historical value. Calanche can be seen from different points of the city. This is despite the fact that a lot of time has passed since its construction, and multi-storey houses appeared in the city.
I believe that guests of the city should, without fail, inspect this historic building. Frankly, you will not regret that you will spend several tens of minutes to inspect this architectural monument. At the same time, do not forget that the Pedagogical School is located nearby, which has no less historical value than the tower. Well, the territory of the pedagogical school will not leave any visitor indifferent to its beauty. But, for Pedagogical School we will talk next time. Believe me, there is something to say and show about it.
Authors: @jurgan and @altenor
Editing: the editorial board of the community "VP-Odessa-Mama"
Editor chief: @jurgan
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