The unfinished TV tower considered one of the most important symbols of Yekaterinburg. Also, the tallest abandoned object in the world.
The history of the construction of the first TV tower
At the end of 1983, in Sverdlovsk, near the circus building, the construction of a radio and television transmitting station began. This was the most ambitious project of the Soviet government in this city.
The design height was 371 m from the ground. It supposed to cover the entire Sverdlovsk region with a TV signal. In addition to the TV tower, a park, a museum, a planetarium, and a house of pioneers supposed to appear here.
At an altitude of 188 meters, it planned to arrange an observation deck and a restaurant on a rotating platform. The tower with two inflorescences of the upper and lower buildings supposed to resemble a stone flower from the Ural tales.
Preparations made for the construction thoroughly: specialists hammered 2,400 piles to a depth of 16 meters. They poured with a meter layer of concrete of an especially strong grade. Concrete rings 2.5 m high made on the spot. Each of the lower rings required 64 concrete machines . The total weight of the TV tower supposed to be 7.5 thousand tons.
Stop construction
In the 90s, with the beginning of the collapse of the USSR, funding was first suspended, and then completely stopped. Construction stopped at around 220 meters. The tower a monolithic reinforced concrete structure.
This tower could become the second tallest in Russia after the Ostankino tower in Moscow. Abandoned, it began to collapse steadily.
Features of the architecture
The tower is a complex figure in the form of a hollow lower cylinder with a diameter of 15 meters, a truncated cone and an upper cylinder with a diameter of 8 meters. Along the entire height of the trunk, window openings of various shapes and sizes. It planned to install an elevator shaft and elevator equipment.
Outside, along the entire height of the TV tower, a walking ladder made. The 140-meter telescopic antenna supposed to be installed using a helicopter. It decided to build an underground tunnel for the entrance.
Later, at the request of the Yekaterinburg prosecutor’s office, high-rise red lights were installed on the already abandoned tower for flight safety.
Unsuitable for extreme lovers
The unfinished tower began to attract extreme lovers, informals, and simply daredevils. Risking their lives, they climbed to the very top. Some hundreds of times jumped from the TV tower with a parachute, spent the night on it in tents.
There were also those who wanted to commit suicide. There were many accidents: it is not difficult to break loose during lifting from structures.
All possible passageways for climbing eliminated, the outer staircase sawn off from below. In 2005, the tower closed, the area around it began to be guarded.
Destruction of the tower
By the decision of the government of Yekaterinburg, contrary to the wishes of the majority of the city’s residents, the unfinished TV tower was demolished in 2018. This infamous event took place on March 24th.
They demolished it with the help of gas-generating charges. In the morning, a siren beep twice alerted people to the start of the demolition. After two explosions with an interval of several seconds, a concrete structure 220 m high collapsed exactly along the calculated trajectory onto a special “pillow” from the ground.
After 35 years from the beginning of construction, workers dismantled the remains into pieces and took them to a landfill outside the city. Small pieces taken apart by the inhabitants. The most adventurous of them offer to buy an original souvenir on the Internet – a fragment of a former TV tower . Price from 100 rubles to 5 thousand, depending on the size of the souvenir.
Ice Arena
On the site of the demolished TV tower, the Yekaterinburg government plans to build an ice arena. The sketches of the facades prepared, the interior and the surrounding area determined. The facade of the ice arena will be of copper color, around there is a large walking area with sports grounds.
The arena will host competitions in 11 sports: hockey, figure skating, handball, boxing, mini-football, basketball. Training ice will be added to the main ice. The matches of HC Avtomobilist will be held here.
The arena expected to be completed in 2020. In total, the building will have 4 floors . The arena will be able to host concerts and competitions in various sports. Capacity: 15 thousand visitors.
According to official statements, it planned to invest 50 million rubles in the construction of the complex, but the real amount, obviously, will be much higher.
About the new TV tower of the city
A new radio and television broadcasting station will appear at the entrance to Yekaterinburg from the side of Verkhnyaya Pyshma. The project has passed the state examination, the issue of financing being resolved. This a typical project made of metal structures with a height of 236 meters.
The question of principle was the appearance of the structure. In order to satisfy aesthetic feelings, the tower will have enchanting illumination and broadcast 20 federal programs from 1 and 2 digital television multiplexes.
According to preliminary designs, the total area of the complex will be 840 sq. m. A building with a parking lot on the basement floor, technical and utility rooms, an archive is planned. On the 1st and 2nd floors – office premises, a balcony will be given for promising satellite dishes.
The construction of a new television television tower in Yekaterinburg will be organized and financed by the Russian Television and Radio Broadcasting Network.
