The alley appeared here in the mid-1870s when two multi-story apartment buildings were erected. The street that emerged between them was named after Petrovka and was handed over to the city.

Building 18 was constructed on the site of the Titov estate in 1874. In the early 18th century, the plot belonged to V.I. Velyaminov-Zernov, then passed to V.A. Nashchokin, who possibly wrote his "Notes" here, covering the period from 1712 to 1759.

The Titov family owned the plot since the early 19th century. A large garden was laid out in the estate, overlooking Neglinnaya, where a restaurant was located. In the mid-1870s, college adviser V.A. Titova sold the property to the "Petrovsky Lines Society." The founder of the society, philanthropist and representative of the Moscow merchant class V.I. Yakunchikov, also owned two brick factories and was a co-founder of the Moscow Commercial Bank.

In the 1890s, the project for new apartment buildings was entrusted to architect B.V. Freidenberg. K.K. Gippius and engineers K.I. Shestakov and A.N. Kardo-Sysoev also participated in the design and construction.

On the side of Petrovka, the corner of the house is designed as a tower, mirroring the tower of house 20. The richly decorated buildings, standing opposite each other, remind one of expensive Moscow passages. The building faces Neglinnaya with a rectangular multi-story wing.

House 18, also known as house 2 on Petrovsky Lines, was acquired by Y.S. Polyakov 20 years later, and then it became the property of F.K. von Meck.

From the very beginning, the house housed the "Russia" hotel with a restaurant. Before the revolution, it was home to the "Petrovsky Theater of Miniatures," where A. Vertinsky performed.

After the revolution, the building was renamed the Second House of Unions. V.I. Lenin spoke here twice: first at a meeting of the Moscow Central Workers' Cooperative, then at a plenum of the All-Russian Central Council of Trade Unions.

The restaurant was renamed "Empire," later a literary cafe "Elite" opened here, followed by "Trilistnik," where I. Ehrenburg, M. Tsvetaeva, B. Zaytsev, and A. Tolstoy performed. Many of these writers did not accept the revolution and left Russia in 1921-1922.

In 1956, the hotel and restaurant were named "Budapest," a name that remains to this day.

The restaurant "Aurora" is also open in the building.