Panaiot (Pavel) Filippovich Akritas was engaged in tobacco cultivation and trade. In 1894, he purchased the old Yakovlev house and decided to build a new large building in its place, which would house the Second Public Assembly. This was to become a club for the city’s public, where musical evenings, concerts, performances, and masquerade balls could be held.

Akritas aimed for his building to surpass the two-story Kononenko house not only in size but also in beauty. The facade of the three-story building was designed more richly and elegantly, featuring a corner balcony and two tall Corinthian columns. The building was topped with an eight-pitched round tower with observation platforms and a spherical dome.

The facade facing Krasnaya Street was meticulously finished: the second floor had paired columns, a protruding cornice, and decorative embellishments, while a structure with a vase was located in the center. On the other side of the building, the facade was unadorned and even unplastered. Completed in 1896, the building immediately became the most impressive in the city and was named the 'Akritas House.'

The first floor housed commercial firms, the second floor was occupied by the Second Public Assembly, and the third floor contained the living quarters of Akritas and his family, as well as a branch of the Russian Trade and Industry Bank.

Later, Akritas built another building at the corner of Novaya and Medvedovskaya Streets (now Budennogo and Kirova), which he rented out.

In the autumn of 1913, after the Second Public Assembly moved to a new location, Akritas opened the 'Artistic' cinema in the vacated and renovated premises. He donated the proceeds from the first screening to the Society for the Struggle Against Poverty. In 1915, a music school of the Imperial Music Society opened here, facing Gogolevskaya Street.

In December 1918, Akritas passed away, and by the end of 1919, his family moved to Athens.

After the arrival of Soviet power, a party school was established in this building, where films were shown and concerts were held, attracting classical music enthusiasts.

In February 1923, the building was destroyed by fire. Later, between 1925 and 1927, it was restored in a completely different style and was used as a communal house.