This photo shows the house of the merchant of the 1st guild Grigory Eremeevich Churkin. The house was built in 1902 on central Kryukov-Khersonskaya street (now Ivan Prikhodko street). The architecture of the Churkins’ mansion fancifully mixes different styles and epochs: stucco details are made in the Rococo and Baroque styles, the tent roofing of different heights is in the style of Old Russian architecture, and the asymmetry of the structure is a tribute to Art Nouveau.
The Churkin merchants were actively involved in charity work. At their expense, an orphanage was maintained in Kryukov and a shelter for boys was built in Kremenchuk. The shelter building has survived to this day – now it is vocational school No. 26. Grigory Churkin himself did not have a chance to live in his new house. He “died on July 20, 1900, in the 69th year of his birth.” His grave was preserved at the Kryukovsky cemetery. The monument to G. Churkin made of black stone was erected by his wife Elena Petrovna Churkina, nee Podderegina, as evidenced by the inscription on one side of the monument. His brother, merchant of the 2nd guild Vasily Churkin (died on February 8, 1893, 59 years from his birth) and Irina Fedorovna Churkina, nee Nikolaeva (died February 23, 1883, 49 years from his birth), are buried nearby.