The buildings of the Pokrovsk Almshouse, intended for elderly and disabled townspeople, were located next to the Pokrovsky Church, which in the 19th century belonged to the Vladichnaya-Pokrovsk community of Sisters of Mercy. In 1998, the complex of the almshouse with the church was partially returned to the Russian Orthodox Church. By the blessing of Patriarch Alexy II, a Patriarchal Representation of the Moscow Patriarchate and all Russia was established here with a church in honor of Saint Prince Alexander Nevsky.

The Pokrovsk Almshouse was founded in 1840. In the early 20th century, there were just over a thousand elderly and disabled people in the city who needed care. By 1915, the Pokrovsk-Merchant Almshouse could accommodate 1,100 people, and that was the number of men and women residing there at the time. During this period, when World War I was ongoing, a hospital for the wounded was also located in the almshouse, which was visited by members of the royal family.

The stone main building, which has survived to this day, was constructed in the late 1850s and early 1860s and has been rebuilt multiple times. In 1858, a chapel in honor of Prince Alexander Nevsky was built in the Pokrovsk Almshouse, the apse of which is visible at the entrance to the courtyard. In December of the same year, the chapel was consecrated by Metropolitan Philaret. In 1883, an altar dedicated to Blessed Xenia of Petersburg was added to the chapel, consecrated by Metropolitan Innocent in honor of the name day of Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna. Seven years later, an orphanage for merchant origin was added to the old building of the complex in the neo-Russian style.

Historian Dmitry Pokrovsky critically commented on the almshouse in his "Essays on Moscow": "What can be said about the Merchant Almshouse? Except that its residents bravely endure unsanitary conditions and meager food, while elected merchants spend 3,000 rubles annually on treats within its walls? The history of this institution is full of the eternal hunger of the residents, who are fed with rotten tails, rotten potatoes, rancid flour and cabbage, stale oil, dead grain, and spoiled cucumbers."

Externally, the almshouse looked modest, without luxurious finishes and layouts. The main task was to accommodate as many needy people as possible.

Almost the entire complex of the former almshouse, closed in the 1920s, has been preserved. During the Soviet era, the building housed apartments, a technical school, a factory, and a shopping center.

The main building of the Pokrovsk Almshouse is a cultural heritage site of regional significance.