At the intersection of Bolshaya Pirogovskaya Street and Kholzunov Lane lies a whole complex known as the "archive town." Here you will find storage facilities, reading rooms, spaces for research work, and the management of Russia's archives.

The history of this complex began with the construction of a building for the Ministry of Justice archive, established in 1852 based on three archives: the Razryad-Senate, the Land-Property, and the State Archive of Old Affairs. The initiator of the construction was N.V. Kalachov, a well-known historian and archaeographer.

The Moscow City Duma allocated a plot in the Devichye Pole for the construction of the archive, on the condition that documents related to the city's history would be stored there.

The building's design, proposed by St. Petersburg architect A.I. Tikhobrazov, won the competition. Construction began in 1883, and on September 28, 1886, the building was ceremoniously opened with reading rooms and offices on the facade and document storage in the inner courtyard. The facade of the building bears the dates: "Established in 1852" and "Constructed in 1886." Many prominent Russian historians, literary scholars, and writers worked here, such as L.N. Tolstoy, V.I. Solovyov, and St. Zlobin. Over time, the archive's staff included Yu.B. Goutier, S.V. Veselovsky, and L.V. Cherepnin.

Today, it houses the Russian State Archive of Ancient Acts (RGADA), one of the richest and most interesting archives.