The Moscow Electrolamp Plant (MELZ) is considered the oldest enterprise in the Soviet and Russian electronics industry. It was here that the serial production of incandescent lamps began for the first time in the USSR. Over nearly a hundred years of existence, the Electrozavod complex has significantly expanded, and many buildings have appeared on its territory. However, the central object remains the building executed in the neo-Gothic style.

The history of the plant began with the enterprise "Provodnik," founded in 1888 in Riga. At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, the Russian-French Factory Association, which owned it, became one of the leading global producers of rubber products, from galoshes to automobile tires. In the summer of 1915, when the front approached Riga, it was decided to relocate production to Moscow. In the same year, construction of a new plant began at the mouth of the Khapilovka River, designed by architect Georgy Evlanov in the form of a Gothic castle with rose windows and tall towers reminiscent of a medieval town hall. Evlanov, a student of architect R.I. Klein, was possibly inspired by the pseudo-Gothic building on Kuznetsky Most, where the "Muir and Meriliz" store (now TSUM) was located. However, the revolution hindered the completion of the project.

After 1918, Evlanov's fate is unknown, and construction of the plant was halted until 1925, when architect G.S. Shikhanov resumed it. He abandoned the Gothic details, likely due to financial constraints, but preserved the overall style. The facade was adorned with four Gothic towers, and the entrance to the territory resembled a temple portal. The other facades, completed in the Soviet era, were more modest but retained elements of the original design.

In 1926, the "Metallist" and "Prozhektor" enterprises were located on the plant's territory. In 1928, the plant changed its profile, starting the production of transformer and electrical equipment, as well as electric lamps. On January 2, 1928, the enterprise was named "Electrozavod," later MELZ, uniting all Moscow factories for the production of electric lamps. Among the plant's developments was the alloy "vobedit," created in 1929, distinguished by its high hardness and wear resistance.

In 1931, the plant was visited by Bernard Shaw, who spoke with the workers and left a note in the plant's newspaper, urging them to complete the five-year plan in three years. In 1937, lamps were produced at the plant for illuminating the ruby stars of the Kremlin.

During the Great Patriotic War, the plant produced shells for "Katyushas" and transformers for defensive structures, as well as repaired T-34 tanks. A total of 1200 people left the plant for the front.