The Vorontsov's Palace is a 19th century palace and colonnade

Colonnade

In classical architecture, a colonnade denotes a long sequence of columns joined by their entablature, often free-standing, or part of a building....

 in Odessa

Odessa

Odessa or Odesa is the administrative center of the Odessa Oblast located in southern Ukraine. The city is a major seaport located on the northwest shore of the Black Sea and the fourth largest city in Ukraine with a population of 1,029,000 .The predecessor of Odessa, a small Tatar settlement,...

, Ukraine

Ukraine

Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...

, at the end of the Primorsky Boulevard pedestrian walkway. The buildings were built between 1827 to 1830 by the Sardinian-born architect Francesco Boffo

Francesco Boffo

Francesco Carlo Boffo was a Sardinian-born Neoclassical architect who designed more than 30 buildings in Odessa between 1818 and 1861, including the famous Potemkin Stairs....

 for Prince Mikhail Semyonovich Vorontsov

Mikhail Semyonovich Vorontsov

Prince Mikhail Semyonovich Vorontsov , was a Russian prince and field-marshal, renowned for his success in the Napoleonic wars, and most famous for his participation in the Caucasian War from 1844 to 1853....

, one of the governor-generals of the Odessa region. Vorontsov chose to build his city palace on the spot where the former governor general Richelieu

Armand-Emmanuel du Plessis, Duc de Richelieu

Armand Emmanuel Sophie Septimanie de Vignerot du Plessis, 5th Duke of Richelieu was a prominent French statesman during the Bourbon Restoration...

's humble house had once stood. Vorontsov was so impressed with Boffo's work, that he contracted Boffo to design the Potemkin Stairs

Potemkin Stairs

The Potemkin Stairs , is a giant stairway in Odessa, Ukraine. The stairs are considered a formal entrance into the city from the direction of the sea and are the best known symbol of Odessa....

.

In 1906 it became an engineering school. During this time, next to the former palace was Lloyd's Travel Agency where the city's elite could purchase tickets for their trips abroad.

In 1917 it was the headquarters of the Soviet Red Guards

Red Guards (Russia)

In the context of the history of Russia and Soviet Union, Red Guards were paramilitary formations consisting of workers and partially of soldiers and sailors formed in the time frame of the Russian Revolution of 1917...

, and in March 1917 the first Soviet of Workers' and Sailors' Deputies met in the building.

In 1936 the Vorontsov Palace was acquired by the Young Pioneers

Young Pioneer organization of the Soviet Union

The Young Pioneer Organization of the Soviet Union, also Vladimir Lenin All-Union Pioneer Organization The Young Pioneer Organization of the Soviet Union, also Vladimir Lenin All-Union Pioneer Organization The Young Pioneer Organization of the Soviet Union, also Vladimir Lenin All-Union Pioneer...

, and renamed the Children's Palace.

The present day palace is only the front part of the original structure, the less valuable part of the complex, the Orlov wing was torn down. The Orlov wing was mainly apartments and outbuildings—nicknamed the "Orlovsky outhouse", it stretched from today's Mother-in-Law's Bridge.

In the second-half of the 20th century, the palace has had two fires.

In 1994 sculptor Mikhail Reva built a fountain called "Day and Night" in the courtyard. Unfortunately, the fountain hasn't had any water since 1999.