In 1897, the city council discussed the issue of transforming the men's gymnasium into a full gymnasium and constructing a new building for it. At that time, the progymnasium was located in a private house owned by merchant G.I. Chuvaldzhi, which still stands today at 49 K. Marx Street.

On March 26 (April 7), 1898, the Black Sea province decided to allocate 5,000 rubles from its capital for the construction of a building for the Novorossiysk men's gymnasium. On April 27 (May 9), the City Duma allocated a plot of land from the military engineering department, where the Konstantinovskoye fortification (now V.I. Lenin Park) had previously been located, for the construction of the gymnasium.

On July 1 (13), 1898, the men's progymnasium was transformed into an eight-grade classical gymnasium, with Fyodor Vladimirovich Lyakh as its director. Thanks to his support and leadership, by the end of 1900, the new building of the gymnasium on Dmitrievskaya Street (now Engels Street) was completed.

The project was developed by Moscow engineer and architect Lukashevich. The two-story building, impressive in its size and beauty, was designed symmetrically. The red brick walls harmoniously combined with light architectural elements. All classrooms were clearly planned. A beautiful grand staircase led to the second floor, where there was an assembly hall for 500 people with a balcony and a recreation room for students. There was also a chapel on the second floor. According to the recollections of Novorossiysk resident T.S. Novak, female students from the women's gymnasium also attended the chapel. "On one side stood the boys, and on the other, the girls, during the service." The director had an apartment at the gymnasium.

In 1904, F.V. Lyakh proposed to the City Duma to add a gymnasium hall to the main building for gymnastics classes. However, due to the high cost of the project (15,000 rubles), designed by architect K.V. Gherzman, the proposal was rejected. Later, the gymnasium hall was built; it became the site of the famous Novorossiysk football club "Olympia" in 1912 and served as the city's sports base for a long time.

The Novorossiysk men's gymnasium was one of the largest and most beautiful buildings in the city and was often depicted on postcards. The academic year lasted 240 days from August 16 to June 1.

The gymnasium offered courses in: Religious Studies, Russian language, Slavic and literature, Latin, Greek, German, French, history, geography, mathematics, handwriting, gymnastics, and drawing. The women's gymnasium additionally taught pedagogy, handicrafts, and singing.

The gymnasium was considered an elite educational institution, and only 5% of students were accepted from the lower classes, provided they were gifted.

In 1920, the men's gymnasium was transformed into the 1st Soviet school of the 2nd degree (secondary), and the gymnasium hall housed a sports section of the All-Education. In 1925, the school was reorganized into the 3rd Soviet labor school, and from 1928, it became a factory-school of nine years (FZD No. 3), and four years later, a mixed secondary school No. 3 with ten years of education.

During the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945), the building of school No. 3 became one of the last defense points of the city. From September 1 to 8, 1942, it housed the headquarters of the Novorossiysk defensive area under the command of Rear Admiral S.G. Gorshkov. During the fighting, the building was heavily damaged.

After the city was liberated, the restoration of the building was handled by the trust "Novorossiyskstroy." On September 1, 1948, the school reopened as women's secondary school No. 3. It had 16 bright and comfortable classrooms, 3 laboratories for physics, chemistry, and natural sciences, a pioneer and Komsomol room, a school cafeteria, and other service rooms. In the late 1950s, the school became mixed again.

Many graduates of the school became prominent figures in the country and city. V. Nesterov and G. Mar became doctors of medical sciences, P. Koganov, Yu. Ivanyuk, and K. Matsyutin became well-known specialists in music, R. Novakov became a laureate of the State Prize, and G. Petrova became a Hero of the Soviet Union. Among the students of school No. 3 were V.I. Serdyuk, director of the art school, and the famous historian K. Krympokha.

Since 1981, the building housed a school training and production complex (UPC). Since the 1990s and to the present, it has been home to a technical and economic lyceum.