People's Houses () were originally leisure and cultural centres built with the intention of making art and cultural appreciation available to the working classes. The first establishment of this type appeared in Tomsk, Russian Empire in 1882. Soon people's Houses became popular in England (1887, "People's Palace"), Scotland, Turkey and other European states.
The term "people's house" (e.g., folkets hus, casa del pueblo, maison du peuple, etc.) was further used in continental Europe for working-class public community centres, each of which often had associations with particular trade union organizations and political parties.
Russian Empire
The first People's House () was built in Tomsk in 1882, and several more were erected in the capital of Russia, St. Petersburg during that decade. By the beginning of the 20th century the capital supported about 20 People's Houses: these provided entertainment, educational clubs for middle-class intelligentsia, petty officials, students, soldiers and workers, etc. Typically, a People's House included a library, reading room, theatre, tea rooms, a bookshop, a lecture hall with stage where activities such as Sunday school, evening classes for adults and choral singing might be held. Some included a museum with various types of visual aids used in lectures in the course of systematic training, and which were also used for travelling and permanent exhibitions.
The biggest and most famous People's House opened in Russia was built in Alexandrovsky Park in 1899–1900, and opened by Tsar Nicholas II, after whom it was named "Establishment for People's Entertainment of Emperor Nicholas II" ("Заведение для народных развлечений императора Николая II"), or, in short, "People's House of Emperor Nicholas II "("Narodny Dom Imperatora Nikolaya II"). This originally housed a concert hall, a theater, a public library and a restaurant. There was a small nominal entrance charge, with the only extra being charged for a seat at the theater. The English publication Contemporary Review noted these facilities, enviously commenting:"it is exactly what our People's palace was intended to be and is not". More such People's Houses were built in Moscow and other places in Russia.
United Kingdom
In the late 19th century, People's Palaces started being built in grim urban districts. The concept was to raise morale and morality through inspiring buildings which offered cultural nourishment. Costly, taking years to build and lavishly decorated, they were designed to provide a focal point for civic pride, venues for meetings and public events.
Notably these were built according to neo-Gothic style, as promoted by Augustus Pugin and John Ruskin: Pugin believed the harmonious style of the architecture could influence morality, while Ruskin in his book The Stones of Venice examined the architecture of the Italian Renaissance mercantile republics, believing it expressed the spirit of freedom. Architects adopted these ideas in their building of People's Palaces in the north of England and in Scotland, both to assert the cultural credentials of those regions and to provide an improving influence over the citizens of burgeoning industrial towns.
In 1899 Joseph Rowntree and Arthur Sherwell proposed that People's Houses should be built as part of a programme by the Temperance Party to provide "recreations of the simplest and least exacting kind, such as would specially appeal to those to whom the stress of their daily lives leaves little inclination for anything more than physical relaxation and cheerful intercourse": that is, a viable alternative to the public house.
Western Continental Europe
In Western Continental Europe, the "people's house" is a generic term used to refer to proletarian community centres located in almost all cities.
When the labour movement and trade unions began to organize towards the end of the 19th century, the workers were in great need for premises of their own where they could hold meetings without interference. Opposition against the labour movement from the capitalists and landlords was strong and workers were not welcome to use existing premises. Landowners even forbade open-air meetings.
The workers in many Western European countries decided to buy their own land and build their own houses. The idea spread all over Western Europe. Construction was funded through co-operative ventures, various forms of contribution and not least voluntary work.
Most Western European "people's houses" were built along a similar model as the "Maison du Peuple" established in Belgium in 1899; that building was built as the headquarters of the Belgian Labour Party.