The coast of Neva along modern Lieutenant Schmidt Embankment was filled with a standard housing estate already in the first half of the XVIII century. Vasilyevsky Island had to become the center of St. Petersburg therefore here since April, 1716 actively distributed sites under housing. Houses were under construction according to standard projects, and many of them still keep the outlines given them at the beginning of the XVIII century. On request of Peter I the coast of Neva was built up with stone houses "a continuous fasada". The house of the architect Domenico Trezzini - one of "model" houses "for eminent" which project was developed by Ge. B. Le Blond appeared the first in 1718-1720 at the corner of the 12th line. The architect didn't lodge here as after signing of the Nishtadsky peace treaty Pyotr I presented a mansion to the count A. I. Osterman. Trezini in 1725-1726 built for himself the house between the 5th and 6th lines. The special attention was paid to arrangement of the embankment. Since 1715 according to Pyotr I's decree owners of coastal sites undertook to prepare "everyone against the house of a pile for an upholstery of coast, a measure tryokhsazhenny, number how many against each yard of these columns could pass" [Tsit. on: 1, page 33]. In some months under the threat of withdrawal of the yards it was ordered to their owners to hammer piles by next spring, to put behind them a linking of a fashinnik or stones and to stamp the earth. Despite imperial decrees, the coast of Neva it wasn't well-planned here throughout all the XVIII century.
Leutnant-Schmidt-Embankment, St. Petersburg
