# White Tower, Yekaterinburg

> The White Tower is the constructivist water tower of Yekaterinburg's Uralmash workers' town, built in 1929–1931 and a national monument. You can't go inside now: tours were suspended in summer 2026 when it passed to the state company DOM.RF. Seeing it from outside is free at any hour — allow 20–30 minutes, or about an hour with a walk through Uralmash.

Web page: https://yesgo.io/russia/yekaterinburg/yekaterinburg-white-tower

- City: [Yekaterinburg](https://yesgo.io/russia/yekaterinburg), Russia
- YesGo score: 31/100 (Yes, if nearby)
- Time on site: 1 h
- Entry: Free outside; interior closed for now
- Opening hours: Exterior: any time; interior tours suspended since summer 2026
- With kids: Fine with kids
- Inside: Tours suspended; the building is under guard
- Outside: Free, any time
- Address: Bakinskikh Komissarov St 2A, Uralmash (Ordzhonikidzevsky district)
- Getting there: Metro to Uralmash, then ≈ 30 minutes on foot along Bulvar Kultury
- Time needed: 20–30 minutes at the tower, about an hour with the Uralmash walk
- When it was open: Warm months only — the building has no heating
- Coordinates: 56.89315, 60.57225
- Facts checked: 30.10.2026

## Key facts

- **Closed inside** — tours suspended after the tower was handed to DOM.RF (source: tower keepers' website (tower1929.ru); Uralweb, July 2026; Meduza, May 2026)
- **1929–1931** — built; it started supplying water in 1931 (source: English and Russian Wikipedia; tower keepers' website)
- **Moisei Reisher** — the architect, who won the design competition in his mid-twenties (source: Russian Wikipedia; Meduza; tower keepers' website)
- **1974** — listed as an architectural monument of national significance (source: English and Russian Wikipedia; tower keepers' website)
- **29 m** — tall according to encyclopedias (the keepers give 36 m) (source: English and Russian Wikipedia; Meduza; tower keepers' website)
- **≈ 700 m³** — steel tank — the city's first welded rather than riveted (source: English and Russian Wikipedia)
- **1931** — the tank bottom gave way on the first test and was rebuilt in reinforced concrete (source: English and Russian Wikipedia; Meduza)
- **Until the 1960s** — it supplied Uralmash with water, then the district joined the city mains (source: tower keepers' website; Meduza)
- **Whitewash** — gave it the name; in WWII it was painted camouflage green (source: English and Russian Wikipedia; Meduza (whitewash))
- **2012–2026** — the Podelniki architects' group looked after it, stabilised it and ran tours (source: Russian Wikipedia; tower keepers' website; Meduza)

> **You can't go inside the White Tower right now** In summer 2026 the tower's volunteer keepers, the Podelniki architects' group, suspended all tours: their free-use agreement was cancelled and the building was handed to DOM.RF to be sold at auction. In October 2026 the city said it wants the tower back in municipal hands. Until that is settled you can only see it from outside — older listings promising a climb to the roof are out of date.

## Can you visit the White Tower? Tours and hours

From the street, yes — **it stands in the open, costs nothing to see and has no opening hours**. There's no ticket gate; the tower is visible from the boulevard and the surrounding streets. Inside, no: as of late October 2026 the keepers' website says tours are suspended and the building remains under guard.

When it was open, it worked as a summer venue: one regular tour a week, events at weekends and private tours on weekdays, closed in winter. There is no heating, water or plumbing inside, so even if tours return, expect them from late spring to autumn.

If you book a city or architecture tour, ask the guide what it actually covers. Most Uralmash walks now show the tower from outside as part of the wider constructivist district.

## Is the White Tower worth the trip?

If you're into architecture or the Soviet avant-garde, yes. It is Yekaterinburg's most recognisable piece of constructivism, and together with Bulvar Kultury and First Five-Year Plan Square it gives you a complete picture of a 1930s planned workers' town. It is about 40 minutes each way from the centre.

On a one-day visit with no special interest in buildings, stay central: the [Plotinka dam](https://yesgo.io/russia/yekaterinburg/yekaterinburg-plotinka), the [Church on the Blood](https://yesgo.io/russia/yekaterinburg/yekaterinburg-church-on-the-blood) and the [Yeltsin Center](https://yesgo.io/russia/yekaterinburg/yeltsin-center) give you more for the time. While the interior is shut, the tower is a 20-minute look and a good walk, not a museum.

## A water tower for a model workers' town

The tower was built for **Uralmash**, the socialist town laid out for the workers of the Ural Heavy Machinery Plant, founded in 1928. A young architect, **Moisei Reisher**, won the competition for the design — the keepers like to say he drew it in a single night.

It was one of the city's first monolithic reinforced-concrete structures: a round drum raised on supports with a slim stair tower on one side. Inside sat a steel tank, the first in the city to be welded rather than riveted. During the first test in 1931 its bottom gave way; it was rebuilt in concrete and the tower worked until the 1960s, when Uralmash's new nine-storey blocks needed more pressure than it could give.

The name comes from the lime whitewash on its walls — during the war it was painted camouflage green. Then it stood empty for decades. In 2012 the Podelniki group took it on, stabilised it by 2016, wired it up and opened it for tours and exhibitions; in 2020 the Getty Foundation funded work on a restoration plan.

## What to see at the tower and around Uralmash

- **The tower from three sides.** It sits on the highest ground where three streets meet: from the side the drum seems to hover over its supports, and from the boulevard you get the classic shot with tram tracks.
- **Bulvar Kultury (Culture Boulevard)** — the straight axis of the workers' town, built so the tower closes the view at the far end.
- **First Five-Year Plan Square and the Uralmash Palace of Culture** — the formal centre of the district, next to the metro.
- **1930s housing blocks** along the boulevard — some of the first buildings of the planned town.
- **Daylight.** The façade is barely lit at night, so come in daytime or golden hour for photos.

## What was inside

While tours ran, the ground floor held exhibitions on the tower's history and the old tank space hosted a media panorama and concerts — the tank's bottom is a shallow dome with strange acoustics. Visitors then climbed to the roof, wearing a hard hat, for views over Uralmash and the forest around Lake Shuvakish.

If tours come back, that will be the main reason to go again. The keepers post news on the tower's website and their social media pages.

## How to get to the White Tower from Plotinka

1. Walk 5 minutes up Lenin Avenue from the Plotinka dam to Ploshchad 1905 Goda metro station.
2. Ride north to Uralmash station — 4 stops, about 10 minutes. Pay for the metro with cash roubles at the ticket office or a Russian bank card: foreign Visa and Mastercard cards have not worked in Russia since March 2022.
3. Come out at First Five-Year Plan Square, by the Uralmash Palace of Culture.
4. Walk west along Bulvar Kultury to the tower — about 2.5 km, 30 minutes. You'll see it at the end of the boulevard.
5. Rather not walk? Trams run from the metro towards the Donbasskaya stop near the tower — check the current route number in Yandex Maps. A taxi from the metro takes about 10 minutes.
6. Head back the same way to Uralmash or Prospekt Kosmonavtov station.

## Before you go: checklist

- [ ] I know it's closed inside and I'm going for the outside
- [ ] Checked the keepers' news in case tours have restarted
- [ ] Comfortable shoes — it's a 30-minute walk from the metro
- [ ] About an hour for the tower and Bulvar Kultury
- [ ] Going in daylight for photos
- [ ] Roubles or a Russian card for the metro — foreign cards won't work

## White Tower vs Vysotsky and Sevastyanov House

|  | White Tower | Vysotsky | Sevastyanov House |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| What it is | 1931 water tower | Skyscraper with a viewing deck | 19th-century mansion by the pond |
| Style | Constructivism | Contemporary | Eclectic |
| Where | Uralmash, north of the city | Centre | Centre, by Plotinka |
| Inside | Not at the moment | Viewing deck — paid | Mostly outside only |
| Time | 20–30 min outside | ≈ 1 h | 10–15 min |

The White Tower is for architecture fans happy to travel. For a city view right now, go up the [Vysotsky skyscraper](https://yesgo.io/russia/yekaterinburg/vysotsky-skyscraper); for a pretty façade near the centre, see [Sevastyanov House](https://yesgo.io/russia/yekaterinburg/sevastyanov-house).

## Yekaterinburg's historic sights compared

Every historic sight in Yekaterinburg rated by YesGo.

- [Church on the Blood](https://yesgo.io/russia/yekaterinburg/yekaterinburg-church-on-the-blood) — YesGo score 55/100 (Yes, go) · 45 min · Free entry to the church
- [Plotinka Dam](https://yesgo.io/russia/yekaterinburg/yekaterinburg-plotinka) — YesGo score 44/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 45 min · Free
- [Yeltsin Center](https://yesgo.io/russia/yekaterinburg/yeltsin-center) — YesGo score 40/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 2 h 30 min · Museum 400 ₽, building free
- [Sevastyanov House](https://yesgo.io/russia/yekaterinburg/sevastyanov-house) — YesGo score 39/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 45 min · Free, outside only
- [Yekaterinburg Opera and Ballet Theatre](https://yesgo.io/russia/yekaterinburg/yekaterinburg-opera-theatre) — YesGo score 34/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 2 h 30 min · 300–20,000 ₽, depends on the show
- [White Tower](https://yesgo.io/russia/yekaterinburg/yekaterinburg-white-tower) — YesGo score 31/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · Free outside; interior closed for now
- [Ganina Yama](https://yesgo.io/russia/yekaterinburg/ganina-yama) — YesGo score 31/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h 30 min · Free entry

## Uralmash and the centre in half a day

The tower and Culture Boulevard in the morning, then south by metro: the Yeltsin Center by Dinamo, the Church on the Blood and an evening on Plotinka.

1. [White Tower](https://yesgo.io/russia/yekaterinburg/yekaterinburg-white-tower) — YesGo score 31/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · Free outside; interior closed for now
2. [Yeltsin Center](https://yesgo.io/russia/yekaterinburg/yeltsin-center) — YesGo score 40/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 2 h 30 min · Museum 400 ₽, building free
3. [Church on the Blood](https://yesgo.io/russia/yekaterinburg/yekaterinburg-church-on-the-blood) — YesGo score 55/100 (Yes, go) · 45 min · Free entry to the church
4. [Plotinka Dam](https://yesgo.io/russia/yekaterinburg/yekaterinburg-plotinka) — YesGo score 44/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 45 min · Free

## Good to know

Locally, “Belaya Bashnya” is also the name of a car market, car dealers, a housing complex and a hotel in the area, all named after the tower — if a map pin shows shop hours, it's not the monument. Search for “Белая башня, Бакинских Комиссаров 2А” to land on the right spot.

## Tips

- Walk from the metro along Culture Boulevard — the tower appears at the end of the view, exactly as it was planned.
- Shoot in daylight: head-on from the boulevard with the tram tracks, or side-on to catch the drum over its supports.
- Check the keepers' website and social pages before you go — that is where any restart of tours will be announced.
- Tour listings that promise the roof are out of date for now; ask the guide what is included.
- Do Uralmash in the morning and keep the evening for the Plotinka dam.

## Questions

### Can you go inside the White Tower in Yekaterinburg?

Not at the moment. Tours were suspended in summer 2026 after the tower passed to DOM.RF; the building is guarded and can only be seen from outside.

### Are there White Tower tours?

Not inside for now. Architecture walks around Uralmash still include it from the street — check with the guide what the tour covers.

### What are the White Tower's opening hours?

From outside, any time — there's no gate. When interior tours ran, they were offered only in the warm months.

### How do I get to the White Tower?

Metro from Ploshchad 1905 Goda to Uralmash (about 10 minutes), then a 30-minute walk west along Bulvar Kultury, or a tram towards the Donbasskaya stop.

### Is the White Tower worth visiting?

For architecture fans, yes — it's the city's best-known constructivist building and the walk through Uralmash is part of the experience. Otherwise, the centre has more to offer for the time.

### Who designed the White Tower?

Moisei Reisher, a young architect who won the design competition; it was built in 1929–1931 for the Uralmash workers' town.

### Why is it called the White Tower?

Because its walls were whitewashed with lime. During the Second World War it was painted camouflage green.

### How long do you need at the White Tower?

20–30 minutes at the tower, about an hour with Culture Boulevard, plus roughly 40 minutes each way from the centre.

### What will happen to the White Tower?

DOM.RF planned to sell it at auction; in October 2026 the city said it wants to take it back and turn it into a cultural space. Nothing has been decided yet.

## How we checked

Access was checked against the keepers' website and news from July and October 2026: tours are suspended, DOM.RF planned an auction for Q4 2026 and the city wants the tower back — nothing was decided as of 30.10.2026. History is checked against Wikipedia, the keepers' website and Meduza. Sources disagree on the height — encyclopedias and Meduza say 29 m, the keepers 36 m — so we show both; the tank is ≈ 700 m³ per Wikipedia and 550 t by design per the keepers. Walking time is estimated from the ≈ 2.5 km distance from Uralmash metro; tram numbers change often, so we don't name them and mark the route “verifying”.

## Sources

- Tower keepers' website, Podelniki architects' group (tower1929.ru): about the tower, suspension of tours, 30.10.2026
- English and Russian Wikipedia: White Tower (Yekaterinburg); Wikidata Q4081645
- Meduza, 17.05.2026: the White Tower, symbol of Uralmash and Yekaterinburg
- Uralweb, 14.07.2026: the White Tower closed in Yekaterinburg
- UralPolit, 16.10.2026: Yekaterinburg authorities want the White Tower back in municipal ownership
- Visa and Mastercard statements on suspending operations in Russia, March 2022

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