The income house with a hotel of Yakov Mikhailovich Tolstoy on Arbat was built between 1904 and 1906 according to the design of architect N.G. Lazarev. This is one of the first works of the famous Moscow architect Nikita Gerasimovich Lazarev, who came from the renowned family of Moscow Armenians, the Lazarevs, and graduated from the Institute of Civil Engineers in St. Petersburg. Lazarev became a successful entrepreneur and developer, independently designing income houses for himself and other Moscow owners in the early 20th century. The income house of Y.M. Tolstoy is the last hotel in Moscow executed in the Art Nouveau style. The building has a symmetrical structure with a prominent central and two side risalits, protruding beyond the main line of the facade to its full height.

In 1912-1913, an additional floor was added to the house, which somewhat changed its appearance. The central risalit was previously adorned with a small dome, which was lost during the extension, along with two side attics.

The first floor of the building, featuring interesting curved windows that have not survived to this day, was intended for shops. The windows of the fourth floor are decorated with an ornament of chestnut leaves, characteristic of Moscow Art Nouveau. The keystone of the stair window in the central risalit at the fourth floor level is decorated with a female head. The risalit is topped with a high attic with two vases and an elegant garland under the cornice. The side risalits are adorned with balconies featuring intricate wrought ironwork. Each floor has a unique design of window surrounds, creating an interesting play of decor.

This house was home to Vladimir Apollonovich Lossky, a bass and director of the Bolshoi Theatre. He began his career at the Private Opera of S.I. Mamontov, where he was the understudy of F.I. Shalyapin in the role of Mephistopheles in Gounod's opera 'Faust'. Lossky often performed in Kyiv and Nizhny Novgorod. After the revolution in the 1920s, he became the chief director and head of the artistic department of the Bolshoi Theatre's opera troupe. He is credited with 36 roles as a performer and 50 productions as a director. Vladimir Apollonovich also taught at the Odessa and Kyiv conservatories before the revolution, and after the Great Patriotic War, at the Moscow Conservatory.