The house is located at the corner of Bolshaya Ordynka and Serpukhovskaya Square, but one of its addresses refers to Valovaya Street, which continues west to the square. This house serves as a reminder that the historical shape of Serpukhovskaya Square was oval. Its layout is curved, like part of that oval.

Serpukhovskaya Square was designed at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries along with the neighboring Kaluzhskaya Square on the site of the Earth Rampart and gates. In the classical era, both squares were intended to be built in the shape of regular figures, a circle and an oval. According to the approved plan, private owners who purchased vacant lots were to build their houses on the squares.

In 1806, a two-story house in the classical style was built on the northern side of Serpukhovskaya Square, near the corner with Bolshaya Ordynka. The first floor was intended for trade, so wide display windows were made here, and the piers between them were decorated with rustication. At that time, the neighboring plots were still undeveloped, and the house stood alone in an empty space in front of the future square. In the center of the square stood the reconstructed old fortress tower of the Serpukhov Gates from the mid-17th century, transformed into triumphal gates.

The house survived the Moscow fire of 1812, and the city's restoration began. In 1818, nearby, between the existing house and the corner of Bolshaya Ordynka, a building with a facade of 8 windows was constructed. Its design echoed the style of the first house, and together they appeared as a single structure. The first floor had four large display windows and a door with two small windows on the sides. For symmetry, in the right part of the house, instead of display windows, large niches with pairs of regular windows were made. This facade decoration has been preserved to this day.

In the late 19th century, under owner Skvortsov, a third floor was added to the building, and the upper two floors received a new facade design. In this form, the house has reached our time. From the courtyard side, the reconstructed open galleries have been preserved, which provided access to the apartments and housed toilets.

Since 1894, this house has been home to "Photography," owned by photographer Pavel Alekseevich Ponomaryov. Even now, a photography studio, a successor to Ponomaryov's establishment, operates on Bolshaya Ordynka. It has changed its location several times but has remained within the house.

Currently, the building is under restoration, and several establishments operate on the first floor.