“People’s House

People's Houses were originally leisure and cultural centres built with the intention of making art and cultural appreciation available to the working classes. The first establishment of this type appeared in Tomsk, Russian Empire in 1882. Soon people's Houses became popular in England (1887, "People's Palace"), Scotland, Turkey and other European states. The term "people's house" (e.g., folkets hus, casa del pueblo, maison du peuple, etc.) was further used in continental Europe for working-class public community centres, each of which often had associations with particular trade union organizations and political parties. Russian Empire The first People's House was built in Tomsk in 1882, and several more were erected in the capital of Russia, St. Petersburg during that decade. By the beginning of the 20th century the capital supported about 20 People's Houses: these provided entertainment, educational clubs for middle-class intelligentsia, petty officials, students, soldiers and workers, etc. Typically, a People's House included a library, reading room, theatre, tea rooms, a bookshop, a lecture hall with stage where activities such as Sunday school, evening classes for adults and choral singing might be held. Some included a museum with various types of visual aids used in lectures in the course of systematic training, and which were also used for travelling and permanent exhibitions.