Since 1770, the Moscow Archive of the Collegium of Foreign Affairs was located in this building, where notable figures such as A.K. Tolstoy, V.F. Odoevsky, N.P. Ogarev, and other "archive youths" made significant contributions to Russian culture. The building for the archive was acquired by historian and academic G.F. Miller. In 1783, N.N. Bantysh-Kamensky became the head of the archive, dedicating 52 years to this service. The inventories compiled by him and his colleagues are still in demand by researchers at the Russian State Archive of Ancient Acts, which incorporated documents from the Moscow Archive of the Collegium of Foreign Affairs in the 20th century.

For a long time, the archive was managed by diplomat and historian A.F. Malinovsky, brother of the director of the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum and a friend of the Pushkin family. Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin visited the archive multiple times in search of materials for "The History of the Pugachev Rebellion." Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin studied ancient documents here for his "History of the Russian State."

In 1808, the building was reconstructed according to the design of architect F.K. Sokolov. Around the same time, a Commission for the Printing of State Charters and Contracts was established, where specialists in antiquities, renowned philologists, and historians worked.

During the 1812 war, valuable documents and some staff were evacuated to Nizhny Novgorod, but many important documents and the library remained in the archive. On September 5, the archive was partially looted by Napoleon's soldiers, but it resumed operations a year later.

Over time, the building became unable to accommodate all the documents, and the archive was distributed across various locations, including the Armory Chamber.

By the end of the 19th century, after the final relocation of the archive, the building was transferred to the Russian Musical Society, where music classes of the Moscow Conservatory were established. In 1882, it was replaced by the printing house of Peter Jurgenson, a publisher of musical works.

P.I. Jurgenson was the first in Russia to publish complete works of Beethoven, Chopin, and other European composers. The "Music Chambers" were frequented by many Russian composers. P.I. Tchaikovsky, who often visited, wrote to Jurgenson: "I terribly love your retired archive with its phenomenally thick walls, its picturesque location, and character."

In 1918, the firm was nationalized and continued to operate as a division of the Music Department of the People's Commissariat for Education, then as the State Music Publishing House (Muzgiz), and since 1964 as the Publishing House "Music."