This location has been known since the late 17^th century, when there was a small Finnish village here. In the vicinity, on the left bank of the Neva, where the river turns sharply from the south to the west, there stood the village of Spasskoe. This village won its place in history when General Admiral Apraksin and his troops held the artillery shelling of the Swedish Nienschanz Fortress from Spasskoe on the night of April 30 May 1, 1703 helping the Russian army advance and storm the fortress on the right bank of the river. In 15 days the city of St. Petersburg was founded. Several years after on the left bank of the Neva, straight from the West to the East, the First Shore Lane was laid. It was later renamed Voskresenskaya Ulitsa after the Smolny Resurrection Cathedral to where it led. Only in 1859 Voskresenskaya Ulitsa was renamed Shpalernaya to commemorate the first espalier manufacture, which had existed here from 1730 to 1858. Czar's relatives relocated from Moscow housed on the First Shore Line. The entire area along the Neva was referred to as the Russian village. The land where the mansion was later built belonged to the Artillery Department of the Russian Empire and was used for the ammunition warehouse and artillery workshops of the new cannon yard. Empress Catherine closed this warehouse and workshops in 1769 because the cannon yard presented considerable fire hazard.
    The history of the building goes back to 1775 when Captain of the Guards P. S. Kozhin purchased this land and built a house here. In 1789 the building was purchased from P. S. Kozhin by Archpriest A. A. Samborsky. In 1798 under Emperor Paul I, according to the Imperial Order, the building was purchased by the state for the State Economy Expedition. Naturally the interiors of the residential building were badly suited for warehouses and offices, and later that year the building underwent considerable interior reconstruction. However, as soon as in the spring of 1799 the impulsive Paul I gave the building to his confidant, famous Russian military officer and statesman Count Arakcheev so that he could set up apartments for the Royal Artillery Guard Batallion. In 1864 the building was once again acquired by a private person, Baron P. A. Fitingof, who owned it for 15 years. In 1879 the mansion was purchased by Col. V. G. Frank. It was he who in four years, in 1883 sold the building to the last individual owner, 24 year old Count A. D. Sheremetev, who owned the building until the October Revolution.
    Alexander Dmitrievich Sheremetev was a remarkable person who wrote his own page in the history of this country. The godchild of Emperor Alexander II, descendant of the first Russian Field Marshal Boris Petrovich Sheremetev (the patriarch of Counts Sheremetevs, and one of the closest allies of Peter the Great), and second son of His Imperial Majesty's chamberlain, purchased the building at Kutuzova Embankment No. 4 on the occasion of his marriage, where he built his first family nest. The mansion on Kutuzovskaya saw him build his career. During his residence in the building he became Major General of His Majesty's retinue, head of the Court Choir Chapel, and founded the firefighting service in Russia. He put together the first firefighting statutes, created and financed two firefighting teams. In the late 19^th and early 20^th century A. D. Sheremetev also became known as one of the leading Russian patrons of the arts, having created his own choir and his own symphony orchestra. The proceeds from their performances were used to popularize music, including Russian folk music, donations to houses of prayer, orthodox churches and personal stipends. In 1917 A. D. Sheremetev who disagreed with the revolution, emigrated abroad. All his property was nationalized by the Soviets, and the private building was turned into an administrative center, which housed, consecutively, the Union of Metal Workers, the Institute of Speech Impaired, and the Finnish Section of Minorities Education Council. Each of these tenants was not to stay for long, however. Finally in 1932 the building went to house a permanent tenant, the Leningrad Branch of the Writers' Union. The fire of 1993 interrupted the 60 year history of the Leningrad Writers' Club, and over the next 7 years the building stood vacant becoming increasingly shabby and dilapidated.
    At present the mansion is being carefully reconstructed and restored. An especially important task is to retain the existing authentic elements of the interior and exterior decoration.
    It appears that the motto of the Sheremetev Family, "God Saves All", is once again coming true.