The First Saratov Male Gymnasium was built between 1816 and 1820 in the classical style, designed by architects I. A. Mari and V. I. Suranov. In the mid-19th century, it became the largest educational institution in the city. The revolutionary writer N. G. Chernyshevsky taught here in 1851 and 1853, and among the students were the physician G. A. Zakhar'in (1840, 1847) and the physicist P. N. Yablochkov (1856, 1862), in honor of whom three memorial plaques were installed on the building's facade. In the early 1890s, the gymnasium was reconstructed and merged with the adjacent wing. In 1898-1899, an extension with a house church dedicated to Cyril and Methodius was added to the southern side.

With the arrival of Soviet power, the gymnasium was closed. In the 1920s, its building housed the historical-revolutionary department of the regional museum, and in the 1930s, the Engineering and Melioration Institute. In the second half of the 20th century, the Saratov Regional Court was located here.

Today, the building of the former gymnasium has almost completely lost its original appearance after numerous reconstructions, and the extension with the church has been demolished. Nevertheless, it is protected by the state as a monument of federal significance. Currently, it houses notary and law offices, the Volzhsky District Department of Bailiffs, the Middle Volga branch of the agency for the management and use of historical and cultural monuments, as well as the Saratov Center for Hearing and Speech.