During the 1920s and 1930s, Sverdlovsk was a true frontrunner in domestic industry. A huge amount of technical specialists outpoured into the city, sparking particular challenges with residence. In 1926, construction of Tsentralnaya (Central) Hotel began. The six-floor building erected under the architect Dubrovina’s project in 1928 turned into an architectural focal point in this area of the city. Specialists liken the construction style to so-called Rational Art Nouveau, which, essentially, was a precursor to constructivism. The inside of the building was decorated by broad marble staircases, mirrors, stucco, and crystal chandeliers. Its massive elevators seemed somehow extraordinary, dazzling the imagination of impressionable Sverdlovsk residents. During the years of World War II, the hotel accepted many evacuees. The years following the war, the hotel endured many reconstructions, after one repair in 1993 becoming renamed Hotel Ekaterinburg Tsentralny (Ekaterinburg Central Hotel). The building houses its own museum, which depicts, in part, famous guests who stayed there, such as artists, politicians, and scientists… During his lifetime, Vsevolod Meyerhold stayed there as well and conducted a meeting with Nikita Khrushchev and Fidel Castro.