This part of the Sokolniki district, located between the Yauza River and the modern Korolenko Street (formerly Ermakovskaya), once belonged to the royal Preobrazhensky Palace, built for Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich in the 1660s. The palace and all its buildings were wooden, including the Church of the Resurrection of Christ, built in 1671. The palace existed until 1740 when it was dismantled due to decay, and the church was rebuilt and stood until 1789. After the church was demolished, the territory of the former palace was sold to private owners. The central part, between Korolenko Street and Kolodezny Lane, was purchased by merchant Chorokov for a calico factory. In the 1860s, the property passed to the Borisov merchants, who established a small sugar factory here.

In 1897, this property with buildings was acquired by the Moscow City Administration. On the part facing Ermakovskaya Street, a Coronation Shelter for incurable patients was established, and on the site of the factory, the Sokolniki branch of the Moscow City Workhouse was located. The factory buildings were repurposed for residential needs, a hospital, an almshouse, and workshops.

The Moscow Workhouse, which existed since 1777, served as a refuge for the poor, alcoholics, and destitute individuals who received work, housing, and food. There was also an almshouse for the incapacitated and a children's department, later a children's shelter named after Dr. Gaaz was opened. In 1903, the Workhouse was divided into two institutions: the Workhouse for those delivered by the police and the House of Diligence for those who came voluntarily. Residents worked in various workshops and engaged in unskilled labor. The Workhouse was funded by Moscow authorities and private donations.

In the 1910s, it was decided to build a church for the Workhouse, funded by the widow of a manufacturer, Olga Titova. The project was entrusted to architect Nikolai Lvovich Shevyakov, who created the temple in the style of neo-Russian modernism. The facades featured elements of Pskov-Novgorod and Byzantine architecture, and the main portal was adorned with a fresco. The dome of the church was made of concrete. The construction of the Church of the Nativity of John the Baptist was completed by 1917, the main altar was consecrated on January 15, and the chapel of the Apostle Matthew on June 10, 1917. This church is considered the last built and consecrated in Moscow before the October Revolution of 1917.

In the 1930s, the buildings of the abolished Workhouse housed an electromechanical plant (later MEZ No. 1), and all structures, including the church, were adapted for factory needs. The church lost its dome and was surrounded by extensions, while the interior decoration was destroyed.

In the late 2000s, the church building was returned to the faithful, and it became the Patriarchal Metochion of the Church of the Nativity of John the Baptist in Sokolniki. Two buildings of the former Workhouse were also transferred to it. Currently, restoration of the church and both buildings is underway.