The Durigins' house in Kostroma is one of the best examples of late 18th-century classicism architecture. The building has an elongated rectangular shape measuring 30 by 17 meters. Its main facade, facing Mira Avenue, features good proportions. The central part is highlighted by fluted Ionic pilasters and semi-circular window and door openings that once led to a balcony, which is now absent. The first floor, with small windows, appears as a basement. The walls of the second floor are adorned with elongated rectangular niches with windows. The alternation of piers and windows creates a sense of harmony. The stucco decor of the building is elegant, with garlands decorating the windows of the central and side parts of the house and incorporated into the composition of the capitals.

The main entrance is located in the center of the facade. Through the vestibule and a three-flight cast-iron staircase, one can reach the second floor, where the reception rooms are arranged in a suite along the main facade. Many of them feature exquisite stucco ceiling decor. In the interior of the mansion, special attention should be paid to the stoves, each of which is a work of small architecture and adorns the room. Among them, a stove with an obelisk decorated with garlands and a stove with Corinthian pilasters stand out.

In 1845, the house was inherited by M.P. Durigin's granddaughter, L.I. Solodovnikova, the wife of a wealthy merchant from an old Kostroma family that monopolized malt production as early as the 18th century. The Solodovnikovs bought hops from local peasants and, having become wealthy, opened tanneries and linen factories, becoming influential in the city council.

In 1861, the Solodovnikovs sold the building to landlady E.N. Michurina, who turned it into a "rental house," where laundries, a bakery, and private apartments were located. In the late 19th century, the building was acquired by the treasury for the provincial excise administration, which controlled the sale of alcoholic beverages.

In 1918, after the administration was dissolved, the building was transferred to the provincial library, where book collections from abolished royal institutions and noble estates began to be brought. The regional library was located here until it moved to a new building.

Since 1965, the former merchant's chambers have housed the regional cultural and educational institution. It was founded in 1930 in Nerekhta and later located in Galich. The institution has departments for choir, dance, theater, folk instrument orchestra, and library studies, with about 600 students, a third of whom study part-time. A museum of the institution has been opened in one of the rooms.