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The elegant Neoclassical building of the Old Stock Exchange faces the Neva River from the eastern tip of Vasilyevsky Island like an ancient Greek temple and, with the two Rostral Columns flanking it, forms one of the most celebrated vistas in the city.
The original St. Petersburg Stock Exchange, built in the 1730s, was wooden. Work began in 1783 on a new stone building by renowned architect Giacomo Quarenghi, but his oval design proved unpopular and in 1804, soon after the building was finished, it was demolished to make way for the present building, designed by Frenchman Thomas de Thomon, who is said to have modeled his designs on the Temple of Hera at Paestum.
The building was completed in 1810, although the official opening of the Exchange was not until 1816. De Thomon's facades feature 44 Doric columns on a high red granite stylobate, and above the main portico is a statue of "Neptune with two rivers - the Neva and the Volkhov". De Thomon went on to design the surroundings of the building, including the Rostral Columns (gas-fired navigational beacons), the square in front of the Stock Exchange, and the embankment. Thus the building became the focal point of the Strelka (or "spit") of Vasilyevsky Island - a vital location because it was right in front of the windows of the Winter Palace.
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