Review article

The article states in detail the history of Krestovsky Island in Saint Petersburg from the beginning of the XVIII century till the 2000-s. The authors point out a special legal status of the area, which used to be a private property up to 1914. It is shown that the territory`s later building development was influenced by various political and historical circumstances. There is submitted a description of the plan which had been developed in the pre-war period and aimed at creating in the area a zone for recreation and sport activities. However, this plan was not entirely completed. It is pointed out that in the late 1990-s, a haphazard residential building development of the area took place there, which led to distortion of the historical urban landscape and impeded realization of certain architectural ideas.