Development of Osh
Every city grows and becomes more beautiful thanks to the care of its people for the improvement of their home. This is also happening in Osh.
Special attention has been paid to the external appearance of the city. After all, the city of Osh originated as a settlement on a busy trade route. In the IX-X centuries, Osh was a typical fortress of that time—a citadel around which a shahristan was located. In the 17th to 19th centuries, Osh was a typical Central Asian city with narrow winding streets, a bustling bazaar, teahouses, mosques, shanties of the poor, and estates of the nobility. By the early 1880s, a new city began to emerge and rapidly develop to the south of old Osh. This period saw the first attempts to plan the construction of Osh. New neighborhoods were built with brick houses, places for administrative and public buildings, and commercial facilities were designated. The first planning documentation for the construction and reconstruction of Osh during the Soviet period was prepared in the form of a general plan scheme in 1940 by the trust "Kyrgyzgosproekt" (architect V. K. Zmievsky). It proposed a mixed planning system—with a rectangular and radial-ring street grid. In 1949, the design organization prepared the first general plan for Osh, based on topographical data (project authors—V. E. Nusov, L. G. Kutsemelov, engineer Khvostinsky). According to the general plan, in the 1950s and 60s, a new square was formed in front of the pedagogical institute, residential neighborhoods were built, old areas were expanded, and new green spaces were created, sports facilities were constructed, the reconstruction of V. I. Lenin Street began, and the improvement of the floodplain of the Ak-Bura River commenced. In 1970, a new general plan was developed by the "Kyrgyzgidrostroy" institute, designed for 220,000 residents (project authors—architects N. V. Karpenko, A. A. Mechkovskaya, G. G. Soosar, among others).
According to this plan, the city is divided into functional zones: residential (settlement), industrial-storage, and storage zones, which are located with consideration of the wind regime, facilitating natural aeration. In 1971, the plan was adjusted by the "Kyrgyzgidrostroy" institute. The first phase was designed for 227,000 residents by 1990, and the second phase was planned for 290,000 residents by the year 2000. The average height of buildings is 4-5 stories. The planning backbone of the city—the Ak-Bura River and Suleiman Mountain with its viewing platforms—serves as a compositional perspective in urban planning. External connections are made via road, rail, and air routes. The city continued to expand according to the general plan. The residents faced the task of solving the housing issue. Before the revolution, residential houses were small, with 1-2 rooms. Stoves served as a source of heat, and oil lamps provided light: chyrak, maybilik, and others. The homes of the poor were made of adobe or raw brick, while the houses of the wealthier classes were wooden, frame, or made of fired brick. During the Soviet era, intensive construction of houses began. In this regard, in 1957, the Oshstroy trust was created, uniting 14 construction organizations.
In 1970, based on SMU No. 2 and the large-panel housing factory, the Osh Housing Construction Combine was established.
As a result of reconstruction in 1978 and 1980, production output compared to 1970 increased by 152.5%. The combine produces reinforced concrete products for large-panel houses and carries out construction not only in the city of Osh but also in several cities of the Osh and Jalal-Abad regions. The enterprise employs 790 people, including 250 production shock workers. Among the workers, P. Mukhamadiev, V. Nukuyev, and others have been awarded government honors. There is a gym for workers and employees where various sports activities are held. The appearance of the city has always been enhanced by guest houses. Before the revolution, the functions of the hotel in the city of Osh were performed by the Karavan-Saray located in the bazaar. In the 1930s, the first hotel with 66 beds appeared. Between 1958 and 1960, a two-story hotel was built in Osh, and in 1968, a four-story hotel named "Alan" was constructed.
Household services for the city's population began to be provided in 1937 by artels of the production cooperative, which united craftsmen—tailors, shoemakers, solariums, tinsmiths, and others. In the 1940s to 1950s, these artels formed the city production combine. In 1969, the household combine was separated from the household equipment factory; in 1972, a dry-cleaning factory and a household services combine were established; in 1979, a factory for individual tailoring of clothing and footwear; in 1980, a household furniture factory; in 1981, a radio technology factory; and in 1984, a photo combine. The city also had barbershops, rental points, a recording studio, and a House of Household Services.
The House of Household Services in Osh was built in 1980. It has six specialized divisions: a reception point "Shoemaker," a knitwear and sewing atelier, individual clothing tailoring, a barbershop and rental point, a watch workshop, and a jewelry workshop. The House of Household Services offers 210 types of services.
In 1979, based on the Osh city household combine, a factory for individual clothing tailoring was established, uniting 9 sewing, 1 fur, and 1 knitwear atelier, 12 clothing restoration workshops, 2 cutting tables, and 9 reception points. In the 1930s and 1940s, sewing services were provided to the population by the artels "Shveinik," "Pobudoy" of the city's production cooperative, and in the 1950s and 1960s, sewing workshops and ateliers of the city household combine operated. Vesna, Aychurek, Zhemchuzhina, and others. In 1984, 14 household points were operating, including 9 fashion ateliers: Aigul, Lada, Aychurek, Rustaveli, Bakhar, and others. They provided 122 types of services.
Measures are being taken to turn the city of Osh into a green park. This task is being addressed by the green economy, organized in the 1940s under the Osh city communal economy. Since 1979, it has been called the Department of Green Economy. The green economy grows and sells floral products, cut and potted seedlings of planting material—decorative, leafy, coniferous trees, and shrubs, carries out major repairs and maintenance of green plantings and the irrigation network of the city. The first green area was allocated in the floodplain of the Ak-Bura River, later along Lenin Street (2 hectares).
The first greenhouse (area of 450 sq. m) was put into operation in the late 1950s. By 1984, additional land was allocated in the territory of the "Kenesh" state farm with a total area of 19.5 hectares. A nursery with an area of 19.15 hectares is in operation, and there are greenhouses. The green economy employs 296 people.
Cultural parks in Osh have been operating since 1986. The park as a city garden was established in 1878 by Governor-General M. Ionov; in 1934, the park was named after Toktogul. Its area is 12 hectares, and among the tree species, silver poplar, willow, thuja, juniper, maple, and others grow, totaling 20 species. The Victory Park was established in 1980 in the residential area "Southeast" in the upper part of the Ak-Bura River (15 hectares). The Navoi Cultural Park was established in 1924 in the lower part of the Ak-Bura River. At the entrance to the park, in 1968, a concrete monument was erected to the Uzbek poet and thinker of the 15th-16th centuries, Alisher Navoi (sculptor D. V. Kheidze).
The contribution of the people of Osh to the victory in the Great Patriotic War