Opening date and history

Mansion No. 12 on Vorontsovo Field follows the curve of the street that goes from the Garden Ring to the Boulevard. Its facade, executed in eclectic style and richly decorated, is slightly curved and topped with a large dome in the center. The central risalit is highlighted by semicircular window sandriks and a fantastic attic with massive pyramids at the edges. The side risalits have small semicircular attics. In 1888, architect D. Chichagov built this house for silk merchants S.A. and K.V. Kaptzov. The right wing of the house, descending along Obukh Lane, arose on the site of a wing from the 1820s. The main entrance was placed in the left risalit, which slightly disrupted the symmetry of the building. In 1889, a wing with gates was added to the house on the left side.

Owners and notable figures

Since the mid-19th century, the merchant family Kaptzov owned a large wholesale silk goods store in B. Vetoshny Lane in Kitai-Gorod. They actively invested efforts and resources into the development of the city economy, assisting city head N.A. Alekseev in creating sewage and water supply systems. Their son Alexander donated 190,000 rubles for the construction of a city primary school named after his father for 200 boys. With this funding, a gymnasium was built on Swedish Lane, and in 1896, after the death of his mother Ksenia Vasilievna, Alexander Sergeevich allocated funds for an extension for the girls' section of the gymnasium for 300 girls. The Kaptzovs were the main patrons of the gymnasiums and financed and managed their activities until November 1917.

In 1897, A.S. Kaptzov suddenly passed away, and all commercial affairs were taken over by his wife Anna Mikhailovna Kaptzova (née Zalagina). She acquired a silk weaving factory in Fryazino and in the early 20th century founded the partnership "Anna Kaptzova with Sons," which successfully operated until the revolution. A.S. and A.M. Kaptzov raised three sons in this house. Sergey and Mikhail were passionate about cars, were members of the Moscow Automobile Society, and participated in car rallies. Mikhail turned his passion into a business, becoming a dealer for the "Opel" factory from 1913, opening a store at B. Dmitrovka, 26, and organized a warehouse, workshop, and a small taxi fleet in the wing of the parental home. Muscovites could order a car to the entrance by calling the "garage." Sergey and Mikhail perished during the Stalinist repressions, one in 1930 and the other in 1932.

Anna Mikhailovna died in 1927. Only Nikolai remained alive, who after the revolution engaged in science, became a professor at Moscow State University, and a well-known electronics scientist. The descendants of Nikolai and Sergey Kaptzov still live in Moscow and actively participate in the life of the school built by their ancestors.

Current purpose

Today, the building houses the N.A. Semashko Research Institute of Social Hygiene, Economics, and Health Care Management of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences. Unique interiors have been preserved inside.