In the 1680s, a wooden church was built in the Presnya area in honor of the Nativity of John the Baptist, around which a small settlement emerged. In 1714, a stone temple was erected next to the wooden church. In the first third of the 18th century, the layout of the surrounding area was formed, and the boundaries of streets and alleys were defined. The temple became the central part of the surrounding territory. At that time, the development in this area mainly consisted of small estates located on the river slopes. The bell towers of the churches enriched the panorama of the area. The district was rich in gardens and water bodies. In 1804, the church bell tower burned down, and in 1810, with the support of merchant Fyodor Rezhanov, a new one was built, and in 1828, a refectory designed by architect F. M. Shestakov. At the end of the 19th century, the famous artist V. M. Vasnetsov worked on the frescoes in the temple.

In 1848, at the corner of Malaya and Bolshaya Prechistenka alleys, opposite the church, a wooden clergy house was built under the rector Fyodor Ivanovich Solovyov, which was reconstructed in 1886, probably according to the design of architect N. A. Ipatiev. Such wooden buildings were common on the outskirts of Moscow, but now this house is one of the few preserved monuments of wooden architecture from the 19th century in the Presnya area. The house was intended for the rector's family. Its appearance is characterized by simplicity: the facades are clad with boards imitating rustication, the walls are almost undecorated, and the windows are framed with profiled casings. The house has two entrances: one from the gable end, above which is a canopy with a metal grille, and the second, main entrance, with a tambour on brackets. The building is topped with a profiled cornice and a gable roof.

Next to the former rector's house, another one-story wooden house (No. 4) with a fence and gates has been preserved. The main facade facing Bolshaya Prechistenka alley is decorated with wooden carvings: the windows are framed with casings with underframes and decorative overlays. The cornice with brackets and ornamentation gives the house special expressiveness.

In the early 20th century, significant revolutionary events took place in the Presnya area. It is known that in house No. 4, the first legal Presnya district committee of the Bolshevik party and the Military Revolutionary Committee of the Presnya Council of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies operated at that time. In memory of these events, the "Red Presnya" museum opened in the building in 1924.

The Church of John the Baptist was not closed during the Soviet years and still preserves many ancient relics. After the revolution, the clergy house was occupied by communal apartments. In the early 1990s, both buildings were transferred to the exhibition and memorial department "Presnya" (a branch of the Museum of Contemporary History of Russia), and they are still used for museum purposes. The museum features two main exhibitions: "Moscow. Presnya. 1905-1945" and "The History of Russian Everyday Life. 20th Century." One of the museum's attractions is the light-dynamic diorama "Heroic Presnya. 1905."