In the early 18th century, on the northern slope of the mountain, near the Penza fortress, there was a "Big Posad," where the posad people lived, engaged in trade and crafts. Later, the streets in this area were named: Verkhne-Posadskaya (now Volodarsky St.), Sredne-Posadskaya (now Moskovskaya St.), and Nizhne-Posadskaya (now Kirova St.). By 1795, Verkhne-Posadskaya Street already existed, which in 1815 became known as Lekarskaya.

The Penza memoirist F. F. Vigel explained the origin of the name Lekarskaya Street as follows. During the reign of Catherine II, a Swede named G. P. Peterson arrived in Penza, appointed as the chief physician. He built houses on this street for his three daughters and, when marrying them off to doctors, gifted them a house as a dowry. Because of this, the locals began to call the street Lekarskaya. The exact origin of the street's name has not been established.

The street is located in the central part of the city between K. Marx and Oktyabrskaya streets, parallel to Moskovskaya Street.