In 1901 Ivan Viktorovich von Besser, state councilor, hereditary nobleman announced a competition for the best project for the capital reconstruction of a house on a plot belonging to him at Vladimirsky Prospect, 19. He did it through the St. Petersburg Society of Architects. An unprecedented number of architects responded to the ad, many works were sent from foreign countries. The first three places in the competition were taken by the students of Leonty Benois, but despite this, baron did not use the projects. Instead, a new project was commissioned, drafted by Karl-Waldemar-Allan Shulman, the architect of Vyborg province.

In the 1910s, the Besser House was rebuilt inside by architect A.M. Kochetov.

In 2001-2003, the house was reconstructed, during which the courtyard structures were demolished, and the silhouette of the front building was supplemented with an attic superstructure. Some details of the composition have been preserved to this day: loggias-galleries with columns supporting the removal of the attic, the coat of arms of the landlord, the side gables are decorated with the coat of arms of St. Petersburg, numerous figurines of owls and atlanteans are found on the house, picturesque bay windows are preserved as well, and the ground floor is decorated with floral ornaments.