Between the Old and New Arbat, in the artistic quarter near the Boris Shchukin Theatre Institute and the Evgeny Vakhtangov Theatre, there is a small mansion surrounded by tall apartment buildings of Bolshoy Nikolopeskovsky Lane. The lane got its name from the Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, also known as "the church of Nicholas that stands on yellow sands, in the Streltsy settlement" from the 17th century, which was located where the "Energetik" house (No. 6) now stands.

The mansion we are interested in is located at No. 9 and was built in 1898 for engineer-technologist Y. A. Polyakov by architect Illarion Alexandrovich Ivanov-Shitz. Ivanov-Shitz, a recognized master of Art Nouveau, was distinguished by his unique style, combining strict and clear forms with elements of Greek classicism in the facade design. He mainly designed public buildings, such as the L.A. Shanyavsky University on Miusskaya Square, the Merchant Club on Malaya Dmitrovka, and the Soldatenkovskaya Hospital (now Botkin Hospital). Among his notable private constructions is the mansion of N.A. Terentyev on Petrovsky Lane.

The Polyakov house is a vivid example of the popular style of that time, "Neo-Greek." Yakov Alexandrovich Polyakov came from a wealthy merchant family. His uncle Nikolai Yakovlevich acquired a weaving factory in the mid-19th century and established production. Later, his brother Alexander joined the business, and the factory was rebuilt and reorganized. In 1871, it was first mentioned in the "Atlas of Industrial Enterprises of Moscow Province" as an enterprise with 450 workers. In the late 1880s, the Polyakovs merged their enterprises into the Znamenskaya Manufacturing Partnership. By the early 20th century, their capital amounted to 3 to 4 million rubles, and the annual profit reached 200 thousand. Yakov Polyakov became the director of one of the factories in the village of Banki near modern-day Krasnogorsk and was known as a "local benefactor."

Yakov Polyakov was connected to Konstantin Balmont through marriage to sisters from the merchant family Andreyev. The poet often visited their home in Bolshoy Nikolopeskovsky Lane. Valery Bryusov also frequently visited Polyakov and had a significant influence on his brother Sergey, who soon opened the "Scorpion" publishing house, where Bryusov played a leading role, and later became the publisher of the symbolists' magazine "Vesy."

During the Soviet era, the house housed the K. Liebknecht Institute, and from 1934, the Embassy of Poland. During World War II, it was home to the British military mission, and currently, the mansion serves as the residence of the Ambassador of Mexico.