The mansion project was created by architect Alexander Zelenko, who worked in Samara from 1897 to 1900. He initially worked in the construction department of the provincial zemstvo administration and later became the city architect.

The mansion includes 22 rooms, each with its own uniqueness and individuality. All rooms on the first grand floor, such as the living room, dining room, pantry, study, boudoir, and small living room, are arranged around the hall. A patterned wrought iron staircase leads to the second floor.

In 1918, when Samara was occupied by the Czechoslovak Legion, the Kurlina mansion housed the Czechoslovak counterintelligence. Prisoners were held in the basement and executions were carried out. In those times, inscriptions on the walls and bullet marks have been preserved, where the memorial zone is now located.

In the 1920s, three organizations were located in the mansion: the provincial labor department, the labor exchange, and the museum of labor protection and hygiene. In 1929, the building was transferred to a kindergarten.

From 1941 to 1943, due to the evacuation of the diplomatic corps from Moscow to Kuibyshev (now Samara), the Embassy of the Kingdom of Sweden was located in the building. After the war, the mansion again housed a kindergarten.

In the 1970s, the mansion was transferred to the local history museum of Samara. In 1989, an exhibition dedicated to the history of the Samara region from the 16th century to the early 20th century was opened here.

The exhibition includes over 1500 exhibits, starting from the formation of the Samara fortress to the early 20th century. The museum features furniture from Count Orlov-Davydov from the Usolsky Palace, duel pistols from a hideout in the Alasheev house, a telephone from the company 'Ericsson' from the early 20th century, a cash register, and a giant advertising feather from Samara shops, a 'sugar head' from the Timashev sugar factory, and a block of pre-revolutionary asphalt with a factory stamp.

In 1995, by decree of the President of the Russian Federation, 'Kurlin Estate' was granted the status of a monument of history and culture of federal significance.

Since June 1, 2008, the museum has been closed for restoration. In December 2012, the Museum of Modernism opened here.