The building was constructed between 1791 and 1794 by the Penza merchant of the first guild K. P. Alferov, based on the design of architect Y. A. Ananyin from Nizhny Novgorod. It housed provincial and district institutions, primarily judicial ones. In 1853-1854, the building was reconstructed according to the project of Penza engineer A. K. Shtorkh. In 1871, with the opening of the Penza District Court, the building was expanded, and a mezzanine was added over its central part according to the design of architect Serebryakov from St. Petersburg. The work was carried out by contractor I. E. Murzin, a provincial secretary and temporary merchant of the second guild.

Memoirists V. A. Insarsky (1823-1824), I. I. Meshkov (1828-1831), and G. I. Meshkov (1860s), as well as writer V. A. Volzhin (1880-1904), worked in this building. From 1803 to 1918, the first printing house in the region was located here, serving the Penza provincial government. It played an important role in the cultural life of the province, printing the 'Penza Provincial Gazette' (1838-1917), address calendars, commemorative books of the Penza province, 'Collections of the Penza Provincial Statistical Committee', 'Proceedings of the Penza Scientific Archive Commission', and other publications rich in local lore. In 1917-1918, the newspaper 'Izvestia' of the Penza Provincial Council was published here, which became the predecessor of the modern 'Penza Pravda'. Since 1918, the building has housed the justice department of the provincial executive committee.