Today, the Verkhnii and Nyzhnii Val Streets form an important transport artery connecting Naberezhno-Khreshchatytska Street with Hlybochytska Street and Vozdvyzhenka. And before the great fire of 1811, there were earthen ramparts in their place, which divided the area into Podil and Flatland. Between the ramparts, flowed the Hlybochytsia River, which is currently hidden in an underground collector.
The uniqueness of Verkhnii Val and Nyzhnii Val streets, which have a boulevard in the middle, is that the even and odd street sides have different names. Most buildings were built in the first half of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Those were mainly residential buildings with commercial premises on the ground floors. The most famous structure in the street is one of the oldest markets of the capital, known since the days of Kyivan Rus, the Zhytnii Market, whose new covered building was opened in 1980.