House number 17 on Tverskoy Boulevard includes several buildings. In the courtyard, there is an ancient stone house with two floors and a mezzanine, which is in poor condition, and its walls are supported by brick buttresses. This is one of the oldest houses on the boulevard.

The first mention of it dates back to 1728, when it was recorded as a stone building in the Bronny Sloboda, left by Fyodor Fyodorov as an inheritance to his brother Afanasy, along with a yard and garden. After the Fyodorovs, the land with the stone chambers passed to the Volkonskys, where the father of the famous Decembrist G. S. Volkonsky spent his childhood. At that time, a pond appeared in the garden. In 1749, the plot was acquired by adjutant A. Plakhovo, and his family owned it until 1829, when it was bought by Major Ostashevsky, who began the golden period of the estate.

Major Ostashevsky, known for his originality, created an amazing garden at the estate. Historian Zagoskin wrote that in the small garden there were "a Chinese pavilion, a Greek temple, a Gothic tower, a peasant's hut, geese and peacocks, a live mountain goat, a wooden Russian ram, a pond, bridges, rafts, boats, and even a warship."

In his childhood, Lev Tolstoy visited Ostashevsky's garden.

In the 1840s, the garden was purchased by General I. Lukash. His wife, suffering from tuberculosis, on the advice of doctors, did not leave the garden gazebo even in winter to breathe fresh air.

Around 1850, the estate passed to Major General V. Kreksina. Her first husband was the chief prosecutor of the synod I. Pukalov, and her lover was the powerful Arakcheev. Her second husband was the young officer Kreksin. This intrigue is dedicated to Pushkin's poem "Noël."

Kreksina did not live on Tverskoy Boulevard but ordered the construction of a tenement house on the site of the current building 1, which, according to rumors, was an exact copy of her house in Paris. This house has not survived.

In 1862, concerts and literary evenings began to be held here. The "Artistic Circle" founded in 1865 by N. Rubinstein with the assistance of playwright A. Ostrovsky and Prince V. Odoyevsky also gathered in Pukalov's house. Tchaikovsky often visited here, and the circle included P. Sadovsky, A. Pisemsky, and others.

In 1879, a four-story building in the fashionable eclectic style was built along the red line of the boulevard according to the project of S. Eibushitz, completely covering the old house and services. By the end of the 19th century, the plot belonged to entrepreneur and banker L. Polyakov, who rented out apartments.

After the revolution, the enfilade of the main house, wings, and services were divided into apartments. Over time, the garden was cut down, and a residential building was constructed on the site of the pond.