Currently, this small three-story house at the corner of Bolshaya Nikitskaya Street and Nikitsky Lane looks quite modest. However, in 1887, architect A. E. Rozhansky gave it a more ornate appearance, decorating the oval windows of the second floor with baroque frames, and the windows of the third with complex rectangular frames featuring keystones. The architect had to make the income house more attractive with minimal costs.

In the late 18th century, merchant A. T. Zaikin acquired this and the neighboring property. The houses were damaged in the fire of 1812, but less so than the neighboring university. In 1817, the property passed to merchant N. T. Vasilieva, under whom cellars and a drinking establishment were arranged, which was considered indecent due to the proximity of the Nikitsky Monastery. In 1825, the establishment was closed, and the house passed to the peasant of Count D. P. Sheremetev, V. S. Savintsev. Since serfs could not own real estate, the house was registered in the name of Count Sheremetev.

The serfs of the Sheremetevs were transferred to a rent system in the early 18th century and were known for their hard work. They were called capitalist peasants, and many managed to buy their freedom and become merchants. After the reform of 1861, it was necessary to sort out the real estate registered in the names of former owners and re-register it. Sometimes it was easier to sell the property to a new owner.

After the reform, the property passed to the merchant family Kosterov, known for their glass factories in Vladimir province and property on Tverskaya Street. From the late 19th century, the house belonged to honorary citizen E. I. Kuznetsov and his heirs until the revolution. In 1887, he commissioned architect Rozhansky to transform the Empire-style mansion into an income house with comfortable apartments. The architect decorated the first floor with rustication and placed medallions with stucco garlands under the windows of the second floor. The oval windows of the second floor received high arched frames with rich stucco decoration. Professors from Moscow University, including the famous geologist Professor A. P. Pavlov, were eager to rent apartments here. His wife, Maria Vasilievna, a renowned paleontologist, graduated from the Sorbonne. After the revolution, they established the Geological Museum based on the collections of Moscow University, which bore their name until 1987.