A unique ensemble of factory buildings of the 18-19th centuries. located in the historical part of the city. Construction of a copper-smelting plant by the miner Akinfiy Demidov at the mouth of the Barnaulka River in 1739-1744. was the beginning of the history of Barnaul. Soon the plant was reequipped to smelt the precious metal, and for a long time it received up to 90% of all Russian silver. After the abolition of serfdom, production became unprofitable, and in 1893 the silver-smelting production was stopped. A year later, the factory complex was converted into a sawmill, which existed until 1942. When the Gomel match factory was evacuated to Barnaul during the Great Patriotic War, it was housed in the buildings of the former silver smelting plant.

In 1995, the factory architectural ensemble received the status of a federal monument. Since the stop of match production in 2006, the factory complex has not been used and has fallen into complete disrepair.

In 2013, the complex of the silver smelting plant was included in the "Barnaul - Mining City" tourist cluster. Its territory has been put in order since 2015 by a group of enthusiasts, directed by the head of the architectural studio "Classics" Alexander Dering. Excursions from the World of Stone Museum are organized here.

In 2016, the architect Ivan Bykov, funded by a grant, held a city festival-workshop, the result of which was the development of a concept for the restoration and development of the territory of the Barnaul Silver-Smelting Plant as a visiting card of the city. The project, named "Silver Valley", proposes to use the architectural complex both as a cultural space and a platform for the placement of innovative enterprises.

Photo: Valery Stepanyuk, Alexandra Gorbunova.