The building at Factory Lane, 10, known as the Gardenians' house, is the oldest residential building in the city. It is associated with legends of the miraculous appearance of Saint Mitrophan. Lovers of antiquity still try to penetrate its underground tunnels.

The Gardenians' surname was one of the most famous in pre-revolutionary Voronezh. In the 1720s, the merchant family of the Gardenians became one of the first industrial dynasties in the city, engaged in cloth production. Potap Gardenin, the owner of the first stone house in Voronezh, was forced to relocate when Peter I ordered the freeing of the riverbank for the construction of a fleet.

For his new house, Potap Gardenin chose a location on the outskirts of the city, on a hill above the Chernava ravine, where the workshops of the cloth manufactory were located. Nearby, he built a new stone house for his family.

For a long time, local historians could not accurately determine the time of the Gardenians' estate's appearance. Until the end of the 20th century, it was believed that the first and oldest was house No. 12 on the current Factory Lane. Historians believed that the one-and-a-half-story building was built between 1735-1746, and the neighboring two-story one in the 1760s. However, in the 1980s, local historian Pavel Popov, studying the brickwork and archival plans, proved that house No. 10 is the oldest residential building in Voronezh. Potap Gardenin built it between 1720-1740 and planned a church nearby, which was completed and consecrated after his death in 1746.

Potap Gardenin's descendants expanded the estate. In the 1750s-1760s, they built another one-and-a-half-story house nearby. At the turn of the 1760s-1770s, the owners decorated the building by adding large shells with pearls above the windows, which became unique for Voronezh.

The old Gardenians' house was more modest. The owners often expanded and modified it, adding or removing extensions. Nevertheless, the building remains one of the few examples of Baroque architecture in Voronezh.

By the end of the 18th century, the Gardenians had completely moved to the new house of the estate, and the old one housed a weaving production. In the 1810s, Yakov Gardenin closed the manufactory and sold part of the buildings. The nobleman Borodin bought the 'old' house and added extensions in the classical style, creating an unusual appearance for the building. The 'new' house became the property of the Public Charity Office.

In the 1840s, the Gardenin estate was occupied by social institutions. The city mayor Ivan Nizhegorodtsev established a school for cantors in the 'old' house and a hospital in the 'new' one. In 1858, the estate was transferred to the treasury and used as a correctional facility for prisoners. The oldest part of the house was allocated for a house church in honor of Saint Mitrophan.

A legend connects the name of the saint with this building. One of the descendants of Gardenin asked an artist to copy the image of Mitrophan from an icon, but it was too worn. The artist sought advice from the church and, following the guidance, saw the saint in a dream, which allowed him to create an icon from which the image of Mitrophan was later copied.

After the revolution, both ancient houses were under threat of destruction. House No. 12 lost its decorations, while in house No. 10, walls were dismantled for building materials. Salvation came by chance: worker Mironenko found an empty half-cellar and set up residence there. Subsequently, the building became an apartment house for workers. In 1927, city authorities carried out a re-planning and renovation. House No. 12 was also saved from destruction.

Today, the buildings of the Gardenin estate are at risk of disappearing. In the early 2000s, house No. 10 was declared emergency and evacuated, and since then it has been rapidly deteriorating.