The project of the current Birzhevaya Square was created in the last decade of the 18th century by architect Starov. Initially, it was called Karuninskaya, in honor of the noble merchant Karunin, who built a brass factory on this territory. After a while, the square was renamed Ilyinskaya, since Ilyinka Street passed in the immediate vicinity of it. In the 1830s, the Church of Dmitry Solunsky, which stood on this square, was demolished, and the Merchant Stock Exchange was built instead, which was rebuilt a few decades later, giving it its current shape. At the same time, the square became known as Birzhevaya

Ryabushinsky merchants built their Banking House and a number of industrial offices on Birzhevaya Square. Famous Moscow architects Shekhtel and Kuznetsov played a huge role in the construction of the buildings facing this square.

During the Soviet Union, Birzhevaya Square, like many objects, was renamed Kuibyshev Square, and its former name was returned to it only in the early 1990s.