The building is named after its first owner, Alexander Dmitrievich Muruzi, the son of a Turkish diplomat from a notable Phanariot family. The Phanariots were an influential Greek diaspora in the Ottoman Empire, including clergy and trading aristocracy. In Russia, they were allowed to bear princely titles. The house, built in the 1870s in Moorish style, reflected the popularity of Eastern motifs of that time. The chief architect was Alexei Konstantinovich Serebryakov. Previously, the plot belonged to Commander Nikolai Petrovich Rezanov, whose story inspired the poem "Avos" by Andrei Voznesensky and the rock opera "Juno and Avos" by Alexei Rybnikov.

Muruzi owned the house for a short time. After his death in 1880, his widow sold the building, and it became a rental house where apartments or shop spaces could be leased. From 1890, the owner of the building was Lieutenant General Oskar Rein.

The house had about 60 apartments and 7 shops. The mansion, retaining the name "Muruz's House," attracted attention with its unusual facades and interior decoration. It became known as a "literary place." Here, Nikolai Leskov completed the story "Lefty." At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, poet Dmitry Merezhkovsky and poetess Zinaida Gippius lived here. It is believed that the events of Alexander Kuprin's story "The Garnet Bracelet" took place in this house. After the revolution, a House of Poets was organized here with the participation of Nikolai Gumilyov, and the publishing house "World Literature" was located here. This place became a meeting center for many famous poets and writers. In 1955, future Nobel laureate Joseph Brodsky moved in here.

In 1998, Brodsky's friends, including prominent cultural figures, appealed to the governor of Petersburg for help in opening a museum. Since then, significant work has been done, overcoming many difficulties. Since 2015, the museum has been open to visitors, and the official opening took place in May 2020. The museum, named "One and a Half Rooms," is located in Muruz's House.