In 1890, the city administration allocated a plot of land to the chamberlain of the imperial court E. D. Naryshkin for the construction of the building of the Society of People's Readings. The building, laid on May 14, 1891, was completed in 1892 according to the design of A. S. Chetverikov. This solid red brick structure does not belong to any specific architectural style but stands out for its high craftsmanship in bricklaying. Built in a year and a half, the building used the most modern construction materials of the time and was equipped with plumbing, sewage, and electricity. With its opening, the city received an excellent book storage and a spacious hall for meetings accommodating 600 people. On the eastern side, a wing was built based on the old guardhouse, which housed the apartments of the caretaker and librarian, and from 1894 it was used as a book storage. On July 1, 1894, a reading room named Naryshkinskaya was opened by imperial decree. The building also housed a Special Library. In 1896, a Lending Library was opened, and a historical and ethnographic museum was established. The history of the building is associated with the names of many public figures and representatives of Russian culture, including the artist V. D. Polenov and literary scholar I. P. Khrushchov.

In 1918, the provincial art museum was created in Tambov based on the art department of the Naryshkinskaya reading room and nationalized works from private collections of the Arapovs, Baratynskys, Boldyrev, Naryshkins, and Stroganovs. The museum closed in 1929, and its collections became part of the local history museum. Since 1932, the first sound theater in Tambov, "Komsomolets," operated on the second floor of the building. In 1923, the Central Provincial Book Storage was transferred to the Naryshkinskaya reading room, and a year later, the Central Provincial Library, which became the regional library named after A. S. Pushkin in 1937. In 1979, the library moved to a new building, and in 1983, the art gallery was transferred to the former building of the Naryshkinskaya reading room, with its grand opening taking place in July of the same year.