Much of Irkutsk has been destroyed by fire and invasion over many years but many of the abundant old wooden structures have survived from the early 1900s. They are very unique in structure and appearance and many have been
sinking into the ground due to a lack of foundations. Many are clapboard while others are of timber frame and log construction. Evidence of recent fires is around and we witnessed the cleanup of one on our trip back from Lake Baikal. The windows and shutters are very unique and attractive with many colours of paint. The better buildings are being restored while many more are being torn down for re-development. Our hostel is actually apartments which is common and in a mid-1900 building. There seems to be three periods of building, early 19003, mid and now early 2000 for a lot of new highrise and mid-rise development. Across the street from our building people still live in the older buildings and get their water from a public pump, several buildings are hollow shells and new construction surounds it all. Quite a mix of old and new.
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