Before the revolution, this building housed the Volga-Kama Bank, the leading commercial center in the Russian Empire (the bank's capital in 1914 was 18 million rubles). The black and white photograph of the house belongs to Heinrich Steinberg, a famous St. Petersburg photographer. He moved to Nevsky 38 after a fire in the previous apartment. His announcement in the St. Petersburg Vedomosti of June 21, 1861 has been preserved, in which he warned clients about the temporary suspension of his work: “I have the honor to notify the most respectable public that on the occasion of the fire in my apartment, I temporarily moved to the Pevchesky Bridge, to Kalugin's house, apartment under N 34, in the yard. All the portraits and cards that were ready before the fire have been saved; so please welcome them to the address above.”

At the end of the 19th century, the building housed the store of the publisher Suvorin and the central warehouse of the rubber manufactory “Macintosh”. At the beginning of the 20th century, the premises were occupied by the store of the M. Frank & Co” is the largest producer of stained glass windows and the P.Bitkin & Sons tea trade partnership.

It now houses a business center. The elevator shaft was restored from old photos, the cabin is new, the doors are made of glass, so you can see the shaft from the inside when you go up.

You can read about other elevators in St. Petersburg at the beginning of the 20th century by clicking on [link] (http://kudago.com/spb/news/neobichnye-lifti/).