This paper discusses the urban planning history of an area in Saint Petersburg around the former Moskovskaya Zastava, a historical gateway that travelers passed through when approaching Saint Petersburg from the direction of Moscow. Specifically, authors are interested in the architecture of the carriage building plant. By the end of the 19th century, this part of the city had turned into an industrial area, which saw dense development from 1897 to 1917. The development of heavy industry and the expansion of domestic railways led to an emerging demand in new freight cars. In this regard, it was decided to expand the car building at the existing factories, as well as to organize the construction of new ones. A small factory in St. Petersburg, which produced phaetons, cartridge boxes and field kitchens, in 1897 was significantly expanded and transformed into the St. Petersburg railcar plant. The characteristic features of the architectural and town-planning techniques of the late 19th - early 20th centuries were embodied in the volumetric-spatial composition of the carriage-building plant complex. The strong romantic tendencies characteristic for the industrial architecture of St. Petersburg of this period were clearly traced in its composition. For the next one hundred years, this vast space did not see any transformations, constituting a complete, self-sufficient environment. The railcar plant, originally constructed at the very end of the 19th century, remained standing near Moscovskaya Zastava until the early 21st century. In 2013, the industrial area ceased its existence, and the former plant was given away for residential development.