In the mid-20th century, the name "Shabolovka" was firmly associated with radio broadcasting and television among Muscovites. It was here that popular television programs were created for a long time, and the Shukhov Tower was a symbol of Soviet television until the Ostankino Tower was built. The first domestic television center was located in the building of a former charitable institution.

The orphanage on Shabolovka was founded by Moscow merchant Alexei Ivanovich Lobkov, who made a successful career, achieving the rank of actual state councilor. He was known as a major collector of antiquities, books, manuscripts, and icons. Lobkov, wishing to leave a good memory, donated to charity and decided to create an orphanage on the acquired land. In 1849, a building was constructed according to the design of architect M.D. Bykovsky.

The two-story building had an ascetic appearance: the central risalit with a wide porch was highlighted by a semicircular window on the second floor, while the lower tier was treated with rustication. The central part of the building was previously larger due to the dome of the house church of St. Barbara, consecrated in 1855 in memory of Lobkov's deceased daughter. Behind the building was a courtyard with a garden for walks.

In the early 20th century, the Varvarinsky orphanage of the Lobkovs became a women's vocational school for 40 orphan girls aged 9 to 14. The orphanage accepted children regardless of class, having both paid and state-funded sections. The pupils received primary education and were taught handicrafts and household management. The orphanage was under the patronage of Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna. The neighboring alley was called Varvarinsky, later became Orphanage Street, and today it is Shukhov Street.

In 1919, the orphanage and church were closed, and in the 1920s, the dome was removed, visually reducing the building. Nearby, engineer V.G. Shukhov built a hyperboloid structure known as the Shukhov Tower. On March 19, 1922, radio broadcasts began from here, and the orphanage building became a radio center. Later, it turned into a television center, and regular television broadcasts began on March 10, 1939. In the 1950s, the first experiments in color television transmission were conducted here.

Despite the relocation of the main television site to Ostankino in 1967, the Shabolovka complex retained its specialization. It housed the editorial offices of children's and popular science programs of Soviet Central Television. In the 1990s, Russian television, created in 1991, broadcasted from Shabolovka. Today, the building of the former orphanage houses the Television Technical Center, but since the early 21st century, broadcasting has not been conducted from here.