Ace of Spades

The door of an old building on Yeznik Koghbatsi Street. There is an inscription “BR M” engraved above the entrance. This is an abbreviation for Brothers Mnatsakanyan. Gegham and Hovhannes Mnatsakanyan were the first to open a gold and silver jewelry store in Yerevan. They were also the first importers of European goods from Russia, Poland and Germany.

Ace of Diamonds

The door of a registered building on Hanrapetutyan Street, constructed at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. No records about this monument have been preserved, and its architect remains unknown. As a typical structure of its time, it was originally designed as a two-family house.

One of the last residents recalled: “The elders used to say that the owner had built a swimming pool on the courtyard side, and that there was once a brothel on the ground floor.”
Whether this is true remains uncertain.

 

Ace of Clubs

The door of the historic house of Barsegh Yeghiazaryan — a renowned merchant, public figure, and member of the City Council — located at 8 Abovyan Street, which now serves as a bookstore.

The house was built in the 1880s, based on a design by architect Vasily Mirzoyan. From the very beginning of the First World War, a military hospital operated on the second floor of the building, headed by the prominent surgeon Hovhannes Hovhannisyan.

In late May 1918, the hospital took under its care the wounded heroes of the Battle of Sardarapat.

It was from the balcony of this very house that on December 2, 1920, the establishment of Soviet power in Armenia was proclaimed.

Ace of Hearts

The door of a unique two-story house on Pushkin Street, adjacent to the fire station. This house once belonged to the famous winemaker Vasil Tairov and housed a wine cellar renowned throughout Armenia in its basement. Notably, it was in the courtyard of this house that Yerevan received its first permanent running water supply.