The mansion of M.G. Ponizovsky

The residence of M.G. Ponizovsky was built in 1903-1904 by architect Lev Nikolaevich Kekushev for the Moscow Trade and Building Society "Yakov Lek" on the corner of Povarskaya Street and Tabletop Lane in Moscow, and Matvey Grigorievich Ponizovsky, a late merchant of the 1st Guild, acquired it. Being an object of cultural heritage of regional importance, since 1922 the building housed the embassies of Russia and Afghanistan. After Ponizovsky bought the mansion in 1910, the new owners rebuilt it, removing the extravagant Art Nouveau elements of the time, including the dome, from the facade and roof. It was removed, making it look like a neoclassical mansion.