The house, built in 1778 by Prince Y. F. Meshchersky, is a rare example of wooden architecture that survived the fire of 1812. This house retains 18th-century interiors, including stucco, doors, parquet, and ceramic stoves in the grand enfilade of rooms. Originally, the estate was visible from the Garden Ring and had a classical layout with the main house set back, a courtyard in front, wings on the sides, and a fence with gates along the street. However, in the 1940s, the construction of a Stalinist building along the red line of the Garden Ring cut the estate off from the city, and the two front wings along with a Neo-Russian wooden house from the late 19th century were demolished.

The wooden frame of the house was completely plastered to create the appearance of a brick facade, as wood was not considered an artistic element in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The main facade of the house is designed in the classical style with a central four-column portico and two two-column porticos on the sides, with Corinthian columns.

From 1788 to 1872, the estate was owned by the Buturlins, after which the house passed to E.-M. Bertels, the wife of the owner of a confectionery on Kuznetsky Most. In the late 19th century, the estate was owned by A. G. Naidenova, one of the daughters of textile manufacturer G. Kludov. Alexandra was known as the creator of the Kludov Baths and a charitable town in Syromyatniki, as well as a co-owner of the Kludov factory in Yegoryevsk. She rented the house to the city administration for the placement of the 2nd male Presnensky city primary school. In the southern wing, from 1904 to 1918, the artist V. D. Polenov lived, observing the construction of a house for the support of folk and factory theaters on Medynka Street. This theatrical house, built according to Polenov's design in 1915, was reconstructed during the Soviet era.

After the revolution, in the 1930s, the house housed service rooms for the planetarium, and in the 1940s it became residential. After the war, it accommodated children's music and art schools. In the 1950s, the facades and interiors were restored; however, in 1984, part of the interiors was damaged during the adaptation of the building for the Main Administration of 'Soyuzselkhozvodokhraneniya.' Currently, the house houses administrative offices of the O. E. Kutafin Moscow State Law University.