Garages

Emil Nasritdinov, Otabek Nigmatov, Seth Fearey

Garages in Bishkek represent another legacy of Soviet urban planning. In Soviet times, people did not leave their cars on the street. Firstly, at that time there were no alarm systems in cars and there was no lighting in the courtyards, so the car could easily be stolen (remember the film "Beware of the Car"). Secondly, there were not so many cars, and there was plenty of space for installing garages. Usually, the territories were allocated to various garage cooperatives, where car owners installed their own metal garages. Less commonly, residents have built brick garages in their courtyards. Thirdly, Soviet cars were small and garages did not take up much space. Such courtyard garages and garage cooperatives were built throughout the cities of the entire Soviet Union.

The city of Frunze alsi had many garages. There are quite few garages built inside cubicle courtyards in the city center. They are usually built of bricks and have either wooden or iron doors and look rather sad today.

 

 

There are also garages in the city center set between cubicle courtyards. They are usually assembled from metal…

 

 

… and can have unusual shapes, like these two small garages along the Bokonbaev Street.

 

 

 

One of the garages on the same territory has been transformed into a namazkana(Muslim prayer room) and is quite actively attended by local residents. Due to the fact that in Bishkek there is a law prohibiting the construction of mosques in the city center, Bishkek Muslims try to find creative solutions, like this one.

 

Another part of garages in the central part of the city is built along the railway lines. This is due to the fact that the law prohibits capital construction at a certain distance from the railway. Metal garages are not capital construction and fit perfectly into the context. 

 

 

Garages can be found on both sides of the railroad.

 

 

The territories along the city rivers were also prohibited for capital construction and similarly attracted car owners. The map below shows a small garage village at the intersection of the railway lines and the Alamedin River.

 

 

In Bishkek, there are two garage cooperatives located near the quarries, from where the city once dug soil for construction and which have never been filled up: in the 11th....

 

 

... and Asanbay microdistricts

 

 

The latter’s layout resembles a small town with a complex grid of longitudinal, transverse and peripheral streets. One of these streets offers an interesting view of the nearby Orthodox Church.

 

 

Garages are usually simple one-story structures painted either gray or brown, and garage streets in general are quite monotonous, especially in winter in the haze of Bishkek smog.

 

 

 

Nonetheless, from time to time you can find a little variety in the shapes of the garages, roofs, awnings and locks.

 

 

 

 

 

Monotonous gray surfaces of garages make a perfect backdrop for graffiti. In addition to declarations of love in garages, you can see a lot of swearing, emotions ...

 

 

... and more serious and socially significant statements ...

 

 

Some graffiti is here since Soviet times.

 

 

If you drive past garages behind a fence, you can always guess that these are garages by the presence of a gatehouse. Usually it is a two- sometimes three-story structure that immediately stands out against the background of one-story garages.

 

 

A guard lives in the gatehouse, who oversees the safety of cars in garages. The second and third floors are being built to enable the guard to observe the territory of the garages from above and some of the gatehouses look like real watchtowers or lighthouses with projectors.

 

 

Some of the gatehouses are well maintained, plastered, and have painted fire-extinguishing and notice boards.

 

 

Others look hastily built and are somewhat reminiscent of traditional Central Asian adobe houses ...

 

 

... which look very picturesque, especially with all the tires, old chairs, buckets, basins and kennels around.

 

 

 

And finally, there are those that are made simply from wagons set on metal piles.

 

 

In Soviet times, garages were not only a place to store cars, but also important places for socialization. Men came here to escape from their wives, to drink in the company of other motorists, to play cards, play nardy, or just chat. Often, garages became places for May-day parties and celebrations, to which neighbors brought food and baked goods; music was played and meat barbequed. This was possible because the garage owners were often neighbors, worked in the same enterprises, and, accordingly, knew each other quite well.

 

Today this practice no longer exists. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, many residents of Frunze left for Russia, selling apartments and garages at low costs to the internal migrants from the regions. Therefore, the social fabric that once united the neighbors came apart and garages now perform only their direct function. As the city expands and grows in height, garage areas become tidbits for developers, so garage owners are not sure how long they will beable to keep their garages. But while they are still here, the garages represent an important component of the city's morphological ensemble and an interesting part of material Soviet legacy.