On the territory of Yaroslav's Courtyard in Novgorod, on the Trading side, there is a palace building, constructed in the early 1770s by order of Catherine II and used as a way palace.

Such buildings were found along the route between St. Petersburg and Moscow. It is believed that the Novgorod residence was modeled after the palace in Smolensk. By the early 19th century, the building fell into disrepair, and it was planned to restore it before the arrival of the new governor-general.

At the initiative of the civil governor, by mid-spring 1809, two reconstruction projects for the main building and its wings were developed in Novgorod, but they were never realized. Under Minister Arakcheev, who dealt with military affairs, many military settlements appeared in the vicinity of Novgorod, and the palace housed the headquarters of one of these corps.

In the spring of 1917, the building was occupied by soldiers from the 177th reserve regiment for the Soldiers' Deputies Council. In April, the provincial Council of Workers', Soldiers', and Peasants' Deputies was established here.

Twelve years later, the building was transferred to the House of the Red Army, and in 1962, the cultural house located within its walls was named after Hero of the Soviet Union N.G. Vasilyev, who had worked here as director since 1934. Today, the former way palace houses the cultural and leisure center 'DK named after Vasilyev.'