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Gorky Park: Stalin's contribution to inner city serenity.

Gorky Park is the Wi-Fi-equipped epicenter of Moscow's metamorphosis into a kinder, friendlier urban space.



Opened during the Great Terror of the late 1930s, the park showcases Stalin's imperial style: The central concrete strip down the middle was designed for tanks to lumber through after parades in Red Square.



An overhaul has transformed Gorky Park into the city's most happening place to hang out. Gone are the rusting roller coasters of yore, replaced by cafés, an outdoor cinema, lounge chairs and free dance and yoga classes. And fans of the 1981 murder mystery novel "Gorky Park" by Martin Cruz Smith will get a kick from just being here.