This street, formerly called Uspenskaya, is one of the oldest streets in the city. At some time, the fortress wall of the Ekaterinburg Ironworks extended along this street. Later on, its borders were moved westward; meanwhile, the street turned into one of the liveliest commercial areas of the city. And this comes as no surprise, since the home owners in the central neighborhoods were mainly merchants. There, goods such as textiles, fancy goods, tobacco, dishes, stationery, books, and ready clothes were traded… Beyond Pokrovsky Prospect (today – Malysheva Street) were inns where arriving merchants and customers stayed. Some of the historic buildings have been preserved to this day, for instance the Merchant Telegin’s House (14/1 Vaynera St.), the Agafurov Brothers’ Merchant House (Vayner, 16), and the Khrebtova mansion (26 Vaynera St.). In 1919, Uspenskaya Street was renamed as Vaynera Street in honor of a local revolutionary and bolshevik who died a year before. The street has retained its commercial significance to this day. It is lively and packed with people today, just like it was one hundred and two hundred years ago. Large malls and numerous little shops can be found in Vaynera Street, as well as dining establishments to please any taste and wallet size. In 2003, the street became a pedestrian street. After this change the street received a new name – Ural Arbat. In 2006, the street was decorated with bronze statues and the number of them increases with each passing year. There visitors can find a sculpture dedication to Efim Artamonov, who, based on the legend, invented the first bicycle, and the Friends statue, for which the local blacksmith Aleksandr Lysyakov served as the prototype; the bronze statues of the Peddler and the Banker, the Sweethearts and Gena Bukin – a character from a now forgotten television series, and even Michael Jackson.
