On the corner of Soviet and International streets stands an old building that once housed School No. 1. It was built according to a standard design for public buildings of the 19th century. The exact date of construction is unknown, but the building already existed in the 1860s and belonged to the leader of the nobility of the Tambov province, Grigory Vladimirovich Kondoidi. In 1870, Kondoidi transferred it for the city administration and council. In 1875, after these institutions moved to a mansion on Gymnasium Street, the building was purchased for 40,000 rubles.

In 1876, the Tambov Real School opened here, preparing specialists in technical fields for the developing industry and trade of the region. In 1897, with funds from E.D. Naryshkin, the house church of the Three Saints was opened, with financial support from Archpriest G.V. Khitrov and merchant V.M. Anosov.

A memorial plaque honoring the outstanding Russian architect, founder of the neoclassical style, and academician Vladimir Alexeyevich Shchuko is installed on the facade of the former school building. He studied here from 1888 to 1896. Shchuko became known for projects such as the Lenin State Library in Moscow, the Gorky Drama Theater in Rostov-on-Don, the Palace of Labor in Ivanovo, the Palace of Culture in Samara, the Big Bridge in Moscow, the Lenin Monument in Leningrad, as well as projects for the reconstruction of the Tauride and Smolny Palaces and co-authorship of the Palace of Soviets project.

In 1911, the school was named after Emperor Alexander II. After the revolution, it was closed, and in 1921 the building was transferred to the Institute of Public Education. In 1922, a second-level school opened there, which later became Secondary School No. 1.