After the fire of 1812, wooden buildings on Bolshaya (First) Meshchanskaya Street were gradually replaced by stone structures, predominantly two-story houses. Next to the extensive estate of F. F. Nabilkov, between Protopopovsky and Kapelsky lanes, there was a mansion in the Empire style, owned in 1816 by Moscow merchant V. I. Erofeev. Behind the house were outbuildings and a garden. Later, Erofeev's widow built two wings along the side boundaries of the plot.

In 1867, when the estate belonged to hereditary honorary citizen A. I. Epishkina, the facades of the main house were redesigned by architect V. Shtrom in an eclectic style.

By the end of the 19th century, the property passed to the merchant family Baev. In 1893, Ivan Denisovich, the elder, Kozma Denisovich, and Ivan Denisovich, the younger, founded the firm "Ivan Denisovich Baev, elder with brothers" for selling ready-made shoes. The trading house and office were located on Maroseyka. The head of the family, I. D. Baev, a first-guild merchant and elected member of the Moscow merchant class, was actively involved in charity and was a patron of charitable institutions in Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Siberia.

On First Meshchanskaya Street lived a large clan of Baevs. The family of Kozma Denisovich was particularly numerous, as he lived in the house with his children and grandchildren. After the death of his elder brother, K. D. Baev headed the trading house. Since 1901, he was a member of the Moscow City Duma and also engaged in charity.

With the growth of the family, the Baevs began active construction. In 1896, according to the project of V. I. Chagin, a two-story mansion with mezzanines in eclectic style was built on the free plot of the estate. The new building was connected to the main house by a passage with a winter garden on the second floor. The facade was adorned with an asymmetrically placed bay window with volute-shaped brackets. The lower floor was decorated with deep ribbon rustication, and a frieze with meander ornamentation ran between the floors. Today, the mansion houses the Embassy of Zambia.

In 1910, the heirs of the estate, Ivan Denisovich, the younger, and three sons of Kozma Denisovich, turned to architect I. S. Kuznetsov, with whom they had a long-standing collaboration. On First Meshchanskaya Street, according to his project, a three-story house in the neoclassical style was built with a long wing along the side boundary of the property and a service complex in the courtyard. The entrance was designed with an order composition, and the facade was decorated with a relief frieze on an antique theme. Inside the building was a grand staircase with a wrought-iron railing, and on each floor was one multi-room apartment with plumbing and sewage. The interiors were decorated in various historical styles and featured exquisite decor. In 1914, the third floor of the house was allocated for a hospital with 50 beds. The outbuildings included storages, a stable, a carriage house, and other service facilities.

In the 1950s, the building was raised by two floors, and during the construction, the interiors of the third floor were lost.

In 1929, architect I. A. Fomin arrived from Leningrad to head the 3rd architectural workshop of the Moscow Soviet. In the courtyard of the Baev estate was a one-story building designed by I. S. Kuznetsov. Fomin was offered to add a second floor for the workshop and living quarters, which was done. Apartment 43 housed the workshop and three living rooms for Fomin's family. The remaining apartments were occupied by workshop staff.

After Fomin's death in 1936, the apartment remained with his family. His daughter, graphic artist Iraida Fomina, worked here, and later his granddaughter, monumental artist Alexandra Fomina. Now his great-grandchildren, also artists, live and work here. The workshop apartment retains the interiors, furniture, and works of the master, as well as the creative atmosphere that attracted several generations of artists and architects.