Pre-war period

Alexander Lvovich (Khatskel Meerovich) Lishnevsky was born  November 11, 1868 in Kherson (now Ukraine) in a Jewish family. At the age of 20 he entered the Academy of Arts.  During his studies he was repeatedly awarded with awards: large and small silver medals, small gold medal. At the age of 26, Lishnevsky received the title of class artist of the 1st degree. From 1901 he worked as a city architect  in St. Petersburg. Subsequently - a major St. Petersburg architect. Author of numerous buildings and competitive projects. Significant buildings for St. Petersburg were built according to the designs of this famous architect. One of them can be seen at the junction of Voznesensky Prospect and Sadovaya Street. Now it is a historical monument - the home of city institutions.  The famous architect died in the evacuation from the besieged Leningrad in the hospital of Yaroslavl  February 6, 1942.
    The school building was made up of several buildings, set in a historical setting. Classicist motifs of the building coexisted  with "Gothic" columns on the towers, in which the stairwells were enclosed.  Staircase towers with narrow windows lead to the main façade. The decor uses classic elements (triangular pediment, pilasters).  In the layout of the building  the method of organizing a courtier was applied - this motif is found in a number of residential buildings built by Lishnevsky in the 1930s. The school building is adjacent to the House of Urban Institutions, built
the author in 1906.
    The construction of the school was finally completed only at the end of November 1936. Two separate school buildings were built. One building housed the initial school, the other - the middle one. One building faced the main facade of Rimsky-Korsakov Avenue, the other -  to Voznesensky prospect.
    The school building was very different from its modern appearance. It was built of red brick, was not plastered, and its walls did not have any architectural details.  Initially, the school was assigned number 16,  in subsequent years, the number was changed twice - to 216,  and then at 241.
    The layout of the building did not provide for an assembly hall, workshops and many other premises, which were necessarily present in all old gymnasiums and schools of St. Petersburg. On the first floor of the building there were the office, the director's office, several vacant classrooms, and at the ends there were wardrobes. There were two of them, also  how  and at the school entrances. The second floor was occupied by the second and third classes, there was also a library and a small sideboard. On the third floor there are fifth, sixth, seventh grades and a small gym with a storage room where sports equipment was kept. Also on this floor was the teacher's room and the head teacher's office. The fourth floor was given to the eighth and tenth grades, a natural science room and a chemistry room. Here, on the fourth floor, there was a pioneer room with a drum, horn and school banner. A shooting range was set up in the basement by the efforts of the military commander. A sports ground with an obstacle course was built in the yard. At the same time, in 1936, young trees were planted along the main facade along Rimsky-Korsakov Avenue, which have now become tall trees.
    In the 1936-1937 academic year, the school studied  eighteen grades, from the second to the tenth grade. There were about 720 people in them. In terms of age, these were those guys and girls whose lot in the near future had to bear on their shoulders all the hardships of the Great Patriotic War, to take on the first and especially cruel blow of the enemy. These guys were born in 1918-1926.
    Now we would like to pay special attention to the teaching staff of the school of the pre-war period.  The overwhelming majority of teachers had an excellent education and serious teaching experience. There are literally a few lines about each of them. The head teacher of the 16th school was appointed head teacher, Sofia Mikhailovna Smagina, who had previously worked in the 32nd school. She taught Russian language and literature. Four years later, in 1940 Smagina S.M. moved to work in the RONO as an inspector. The post of director of the school was taken by Aralin Viktor Alexandrovich, who had previously worked as a head teacher in the 11th incomplete secondary school of the Oktyabrsky district.
- Belyaeva Valentina Mikhailovna, teacher of Russian language and literature. At the same time she was a permanent director on the stage of the theater in the Palace of Prince Yusupov.  She died of wounds and exacerbated tuberculosis in January 1942. The burial place is unknown. Her name is entered in the "Book of Memory";
- Leonid Vasiliev, physical education teacher. He organized extracurricular activities in various sports, school teams participated in regional competitions, it was impossible to participate in competitions with deuces, students surrendered to the TRP norms, learned to shoot. Member of the Great Patriotic War. According to eyewitnesses, Vasiliev survived the war, but soon died;
- Vernikov Mikhail Izrailevich, history teacher. Pupil of Professor Tarle, favorite teacher of high school students. In 1941 he continued to work as a school teacher. He survived the terrible winter of 1942, in May of the same year he was drafted into the army. Received a referral to urgent courses for the training of junior officers, but studied for only four days, as he was short-sighted, and an attempt to hide it was immediately discovered. Was found unfit for military service, evacuated from Leningrad and continued to work at the school;
- Zimin Grigory Dmitrievich, teacher of drawing and drafting. A talented artist of the Imperial Porcelain Factory, then the Leningrad Porcelain Factory named after Lomonosov. He worked in a blockade school;
- Kvalevidze Shalo Ilyich, teacher of drawing and drafting. Young artist. He died in 1943 while participating in Operation Iskra. His name is entered in the "Book of Memory";
- Kamenetskaya Roza Abramovna, teacher of mathematics. Before the revolution she worked in a private gymnasium, her lessons were distinguished by skill and exactingness. She was an excellent teacher, a strict person, always correct. She died shortly after the end of the war;
- Shvaychenko Ivan Markovich, physics teacher. Author of a physics problem book for high school. His students have repeatedly won city Olympiads;
- Semanova Maria Leontievna, high school literature teacher. Candidate of Science, Russian literary critic. She was ten years older than her students. Young and energetic, in love with her subject - literature. Her outstanding scientific works in the future will be devoted to Russian literature of the 19th century;
- Frisch Tatiana Eduardovna, biology teacher. She came from an old noble family, whose members occupied a prominent place in the history of the Russian state. She lived a difficult life, was repressed, and in 1941 she accompanied elementary school students to evacuation.
      Our school is also proud of its pre-war graduates. There are many famous artists, politicians, military men and scientists among them.
    A student with a very interesting family history studied at our school