The bell tower was built between 1784 and 1789, and the Romanov Boyars' Chambers, dating back to the 16th-17th centuries, were restored by F. Richter in 1858-1859. The Znamensky Monastery Cathedral, erected between 1679 and 1682 by architects F. Grigoriev and G. Anisimov, also underwent reconstruction in 1856 under the guidance of F.F. Richter. The brotherhood building dates back to the 17th century.

There are two versions of the monastery's founding: according to one, it was established by Tsar Mikhail Romanov in 1631 in memory of his mother, the nun Marfa; according to the other, it was founded in 1629 in honor of the birth of Tsar Mikhail's son, Alexei. The dedication of the monastery to the Sign of the Most Holy Theotokos is associated with the household church arranged in the N.R. Yuriev Chambers.

The courtyard on Varvarka was created by Nikita Romanovich Yuriev in the 1550s after his sister Anastasia became the wife of Ivan the Terrible in 1547.

In the mid-19th century, the Romanov Boyars' Chambers became the subject of restoration under architect F.F. Richter. A two-flight staircase leads to the upper floors of the building, while the lower tier is painted to resemble "diamond rustication." During the restoration, the white stone masonry of the lower tier was restored, and in the upper tier, the vaulted ceilings and tiled stoves were renovated.

Major construction work in the monastery was carried out in the 1670s when a new Znamensky Cathedral was built with funds from boyar I.M. Miloslavsky. The cathedral, located below the level of Varvarka Street, is a typical Moscow church from the second half of the 17th century, featuring decorative elements such as kokoshniks and arches. The cathedral has five domes, but light enters only through the central drum.

In the 1780s, after the "Plague Riot," the Holy Gates with the bell tower were built. The monastery was closed in 1929, and restoration work was carried out in the 1960s-1970s in preparation for the 1980 Olympics.

Today, the Romanov Boyars' Chambers and the Znamensky Cathedral are a branch of the State Historical Museum, and since 1992, services have resumed in the cathedral. Restoration work was conducted in 1991 with the organization of the parish.