Central Children's Store on Lubyanka
Fun activities for kids of all ages across seven floors
More commonly known as Detsky Mir (literally: Children's World), this store selling goods for children and young adults opened in 1957 at the site of the demolished Lubyansky Arcade to become the largest children's mall in the Soviet Union. The building was designed by Alexey Dushkin, an architect renowned for designing the central stations of the Moscow Metro. It is clad in granite and features monumental stained-glass windows. Soviet kids loved coming to Detsky Mir to buy ice cream in wafer cones and watch stage performances in the central hall.
In 2015, the store reopened after a large-scale reconstruction that took seven years. With most of the original facade elements preserved, the building got a new seven-story atrium and a walkthrough passage: now you can get into the store both from Lubyanskaya Square and Rozhdestvenka Street.
In addition to numerous children's stores, the building also hosts an interactive science museum, an esports zone, and a go-kart track. The Museum of Childhood, with its large collection of the toys which were once for sale in Detsky Mir, is located on the seventh floor; the Children's City of Professions is two floors down. The main attraction is the rooftop observation deck from which you can enjoy a view of the Kremlin and Lubyanskaya Square.
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