In the 18th century, the plot on Znamenka Street between the Cross Exaltation and Starovagankovsky Lanes was divided between the properties of the Apraxins and Levashovs. The Apraxins' property retained its boundaries, while the Levashovs' property was divided multiple times. In 1828, a part of the Levashovs' property, located along the red line of Znamenka, was purchased by the merchant's wife M.P. Arbuzova. She built an Empire-style mansion closer to Starovagankovsky Lane and laid out a garden to its left.

In 1884, the northern part of Arbuzova's estate, where the garden was located, was bought by V. Ya. Lepeshkina, a hereditary honorary citizen. She commissioned architect B.V. Freidenberg to design a stone two-story mansion with eclectic decor. The mansion was distinguished by a side bay window-balcony with caryatids and an entrance vestibule, which was adjacent to a metal fence. The side facade, more richly decorated, was hidden in the garden.

Varvara Yakovlevna was the daughter of merchant Yakov Vasilyevich Prokhorov, the owner of a manufactory in Three Mountains. In the 1850s, she married Vasily Semyonovich Lepeshkin, the son of a famous Moscow merchant and city mayor. The Lepeshkin family was known for their charity work. After her husband's death at the age of 39, Varvara dedicated herself to her children and philanthropy. In 1887, she opened a women's vocational school in memory of her daughter. When her son got married, she left him the family home and built herself a house on Znamenka. By 1901, Varvara Yakovlevna became the owner of the entire former property of Arbuzova.

After her death in 1901, the mansion was inherited by her son, who sold it in 1910 to Andrei Andreevich Ponizovkin. The Ponizovkin family, originally from Yaroslavl province, was known for their large manufacturing business. Andrei Andreevich moved to Moscow, became the chairman of the board of the Industrial and Commercial Society, and bought a house on Znamenka. In 1916, he and his brother founded the Moscow-Volga-Baku Oil Industry Society.

After the revolution, the mansion was transferred to the Communist Academy and then to the Institute of State and Law of the Academy of Sciences. In the 1930s, the building was raised by two floors.