The history of the buildings currently occupied by the Stanislavsky Electric Theatre dates back to the 19th century. In 1872, the plot next to the English Club, which in the 18th century belonged to the Golitsyn family, was purchased by Privy Councillor Ivan Pavlovich Shablykin. In 1874, a four-story tenement house was built per the design of architect Mikhail Nikiforov, located perpendicular to Tverskaya Street, with commercial galleries on the first floor. At one time, there were a brewery, a hairdresser, and a haberdashery.

In 1888, nearby, at the corner of Tverskaya and Mamonovsky Lane, an L-shaped mansion appeared, designed by architect Mitrofan Arsenyev, also used as a tenement house. In 1913, the plot passed to Count Alexei Kapnist, who soon rented one of the houses to film producer Abram Gechtman. At Gechtman's request, the narrow tenement house was converted into an electric theatre with a hall for 900 seats, an orchestra pit in front of the screen, two lobbies, grand staircases, and a buffet. The mansion received a new neoclassical facade with a balcony and lion sculptures on the roof, harmonizing with the appearance of the English Club. The 'Ars' Electric Theatre was solemnly opened in November 1915 with a screening of the film 'Dream of the Golden Dream.' This date and a plaque commemorating V.I. Lenin's speech in 1918 at a meeting in honor of the anniversary of the revolution are still visible on the facade.

From 1921 to 1936, the 'Ars' cinema housed the Children's Theatre under the direction of Natalia Sats, then the Moscow TЮZ, and in 1950, it became home to the Moscow Drama Theatre named after K.S. Stanislavsky.

Over the century, the building underwent several reconstructions: in 1940, during the expansion of Gorky Street, the theatre was moved deeper into the block, and in 1955, during a campaign against architectural excesses, it lost a significant part of its facade decor.

In 2013, the architectural bureau Wowhaus combined the disparate spaces of the building into a unified functional space of the Stanislavsky Electric Theatre, using modern means to highlight the historical decor of the interiors.

After the reconstruction, maintenance and adaptation work for modern use is being carried out in the building.