Fifteen minutes later, three trucks arrived at the gate in Vagankovsky, where the entire staff of the branch, led by the manager, loaded up. As soon as the first truck, swaying at the gates, drove into the alley, the employees standing on the platform and holding each other by the shoulders began to sing, and the entire alley filled with the sounds of a popular song. The second truck picked up the song, and then the third. The employees of the City Spectacle Branch performed "Glorious Sea, Sacred Baikal." M. Bulgakov chose an interesting location for the branch in Vagankovsky Alley. According to him, the branch was located in an old mansion in the courtyard, known for its porphyry columns in the vestibule.

The stone house and two small wings appeared in the alley in the second half of the 18th century. In the early 19th century, the plot belonged to Princess N.I. Golitsyna, sister of Count A. Osterman-Tolstoy and mother of Decembrist V.M. Golitsyn, who spent his childhood here. V.M. Golitsyn was the only representative of the Golitsyn family in the December movement. D. Merezhkovsky chose him as the main character of his novel "Alexander I."

After the death of his mother, the house passed to V.M. Golitsyn's brother, Leonid. In the 1860s, writer A.A. Potehin lived in one of the wings. In 1874, the estate was acquired by the wife of General-Adjutant E.L. Ignatiev. In 1876, architect M.A. Zykov reconstructed the house and added to the wings, connecting them with the main building. A balcony appeared on the facade. The apartments in the wings were also rented out, and in the 1880s, the chief conductor of the Bolshoi Theatre, I.K. Altani, lived here.

In 1883, the owner of the estate became hereditary honorary citizen N.I. Pastukhov. V.A. Gilyarovsky, who started at his newspaper, called him "a reporter like no other before him." N.I. Pastukhov was a journalist, creator, and owner of the newspaper "Moscow Leaf." He became wealthy publishing one of the first tabloid newspapers in Moscow, filled with feuilletons and scandals, printed on paper suitable "for smoking." The only requirement for reporters was to adhere to the truth. He bought the house in Starovagankovsky Alley already as a well-known wealthy man.

Pastukhov himself was the publisher and editor of the newspaper "Moscow Leaf," sometimes his son V.N. Pastukhov, who lived in the same house, in the apartment above, performed his duties. In 1894, a printing house was built on the estate's territory according to the design of architect P.M. Samarin. And in 1898, according to his design, a lace metal grille with the owner's initials "NP" on the gate leaves was erected from the side of the alley. The grille was supported by cast-iron columns.

The owners continued to rent out apartments, and in 1906 and 1908, actor I.M. Moskvin from the Art Theatre lived here. Father and son Pastukhov died in 1911 from a cold, and the house came to be owned by their grandchildren.

The position of chief editor of "Moscow Leaf" was held by M.M. Smirnov until 1918. In 1918, the newspaper was closed for counter-revolutionary propaganda. The editorial office housed "Red Newspaper," and later the newspaper "Poor People."