The Makaryev Monastery was restored thanks to income from trade, which allowed for the construction of new stone buildings and the creation of a picturesque ensemble on the banks of the Volga. The main architect of most of the buildings was the Moscow master Maxim Apsin.

The following were built in the monastery:

The Assumption Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary with a refectory and bell tower, erected in 1654. The cathedral rises on a high base, where storerooms for merchants arriving for the fair are arranged.

The Trinity Cathedral with chapels of St. Macarius and St. Michael Malein, created in 1664 after the model of the Moscow Assumption Cathedral.

The gate church in honor of Archangel Michael, built over the holy gates in 1670.

A wooden chapel with an image of St. Macarius, brought from the Unzha Monastery, which was replaced in 1809 by a stone church of Macarius of Yellow Water.

A cell church in honor of St. Anthony the Great.

A church in honor of St. Gregory Pelshensky, built in 1786.

From 1662 to 1667, a fortress wall with nine towers was erected, forming almost a square with sides of 200 by 200 meters, a height of 8 meters, and a width of 2.5 meters.

In 1829, the northwestern corner tower collapsed, and in 1859, the central dome of the Trinity Cathedral. Due to the threat of destruction, the Makaryev Monastery was closed in 1868.