Many residents of the city are familiar with the majestic red building on Krasnoarmeyskaya Street, occupying half a block between Gimnazicheskaya and Lenin Streets. The older generation often refers to it as the "House of Pioneers," although throughout its history it has changed names multiple times and has a rich history.

The emergence of this building is linked to the need for education for the young generation of the Kuban capital. In the early 20th century, the public of Yekaterinodar raised the issue of constructing a new building for the city gymnasium, as the rent for the house of merchant N.G. Kononenko on Krasnaya Street was quite expensive. In 1901, the City Duma allocated 60,000 rubles for construction, and in 1902-1903, an additional 20,000 was added. The site for construction had been purchased earlier, and the Pushkin Library, which was moved to Krasnaya Street, was located there. The new gymnasium was to neighbor the women's gymnasium built in the 1880s.

On June 1, 1904, the ceremonial laying of the foundation for the Men's City Gymnasium on Bursakovskaya Street (now Krasnoarmeyskaya) took place in the presence of the Acting Ataman of the Kuban Cossack Army Y.D. Malama and other high-ranking officials. Architect N.G. Petin won the competition for the building's design and oversaw the construction.

The estimated cost of the building was 250,000 rubles, but only a third of that amount was available. The missing funds were borrowed from the Don Land Bank, and the Kuban Cossack Army provided a loan. During construction, the ceiling collapsed, delaying the completion of the work. However, the building was completed in a year and a half, and on January 10, 1906, it was solemnly consecrated. It was named the 1st Men's Gymnasium after the former city mayor V.S. Klimov, who left a good memory among the residents of Yekaterinodar.

The gymnasium hall sometimes hosted meetings of the City Duma. Here, on March 3, 1917, the city mayor M.D. Skvorkikov read a telegram about the transfer of power to the Provisional Government, which elicited enthusiastic shouts of "hurrah."

From September 1, 1918, a people's university began operating in the building, and it also housed the office of the first Kuban higher educational institution, the Polytechnic Institute.

During the Civil War, the building housed volunteer units of the Kuban government under the command of V.L. Pokrovsky. In the summer of 1919, the American Red Cross set up a hospital here for 500 wounded soldiers of the Volunteer White Army led by General A.I. Denikin.

After the establishment of Soviet power, the building became home to the Kuban Workers' Faculty named after V.I. Lenin. In 1920, two workers' faculties opened: one at the Polytechnic Institute and one at the university. In June 1922, the first graduation of "red students" took place, and the Kuban workers' faculty was recognized as the "solid workers' faculty of the republic." In 1929, a Ukrainian department and courses for training "batraks for the workers' faculty" were opened. A year later, it was reorganized into three independent workers' faculties, and the "workers' faculty named after V.I. Lenin" of the Kuban Pedagogical Institute remained in this building.

In the mid-1930s, the building was transferred to the Higher Communist Agricultural School, which trained leaders of collective farm production. The city committee of the VKP(b) often held events here, and a cinema hall was established.

In the late 1930s, the building was occupied by the Krai Executive Committee, which remained here until moving to the new House of Soviets on Krasnaya. During the occupation of the city, the building became the residence of the burgomaster appointed by the Germans. Since 1961, it has housed the Palace of Pioneers and Schoolchildren, which during the perestroika years became the "Center for Creative Development and Humanitarian Education," remaining so to this day.