In the mid-1870s, the Petrovsky Lines connected Petrovka Street and Neglinnaya Passage through the construction of buildings 18 and 20 on Petrovka, which faced Neglinnaya under numbers 19 and 21. These buildings belonged to the 'Partnership of the Petrovsky Lines', founded by Moscow entrepreneur and philanthropist V.I. Yakunchikov, who was also a co-founder of the Moscow Commercial Bank and participated in the establishment of the Moscow Conservatory.

Before the 1870s, the site of building 20 was owned by Prince N.A. Kasatkin-Rostovsky. In the mid-1870s, the 'Partnership of the Petrovsky Lines' acquired this property to build an income house with apartments, bookstores, and libraries. The two income houses, separated by a lane, formed a passage under the open sky. After the construction was completed, the lane was gifted to Moscow.

The project of the buildings was developed by architect B.V. Freidenberg, with the involvement of K.K. Hippius and engineers K.I. Shestakov and A.N. Kardo-Sysoev in the design and construction. The building on Petrovka had a grand wing with a semicircular tower and mirrored building 18. The wing facing Neglinnaya Street also mirrored the neighboring building, except for the middle sections. Building 20 did not have a restaurant, but the odd side of the 'Petrovsky Lines' was known for its bookstores and libraries. It housed publishing houses and stores such as the 'Society for the Distribution of Useful Books' and 'Library for Reading and Bookstore of B. Post'.

On the Petrovsky Lines, there was also the 'Intermediary' store of I.I. Gorbunov and the antique shop of P.P. Shabanov. The upper floors of the building were occupied by apartments, with notable residents including I. Knebel, the founder of the first specialized publishing house in Russia for fine arts. In 1878 and 1883, scholars Sofia and Vladimir Kovalevsky lived here, and A.G. Stoletov, K.A. Timiryazev, and V.I. Taneyev also visited.

In 1878, the 'Musical School of P.A. Shestakovsky' opened in the building, as well as 'Free Sunday Classes of Choral Singing'. The house is associated with the names of writers L. Andreev, V. Veresaev, N. Telezhov, I. Bunin, M. Gorky, A. Chekhov, A. Serafimovich, and P. Boborykin, who visited it in 1889 and 1903 when the newspaper 'Courier' was located here.

In addition to books, the Petrovsky Lines traded live flowers from the Fomin brothers and antiques from the 'Japan-China Store' of O.K. Iokish. In 1879 and 1880, one of the premises was occupied by the 'Partnership of Electric Lighting P.N. Yablochkov and Co.', making the lane one of the first to be illuminated by electricity.

Today, the building houses cafes, restaurants, and shops.