Since 1740 land of the house # 48 on Nevsky Prospekt belonged to architect M. G. Zemtsov. Here he began to build his house. But he didn't manage to finish it as he died in 1743. This land site, that already belonged to his  widow, was purchased by Empress Elizabeth in 1747. The land was repeatedly changing its owners.

Among the house's residents in 1836 one could name Dutch Ambassador Baron Gekkern with his adopted son, Georges d'Anthes.

Aristocrat, Count Yakov Ivanovich Essen-Stenbock-Fermor bought the site in 1840s. In 1846-1848s by his order an architect R. A. Zhelyazevich built a new building. Golitsinskaya gallery in Moscow served as a building prototype. On the first floor of the Passage there were warehouses, on the second - spaces for commercial establishments, and on the third - residential areas. Building on the Italian street housed a concert hall. The name of the shopping center - "Passage" - comes from the French "passer", which means to wander. Covered street-gallery stretched for 180 m.

Shopping Center designed by the Count, became one of the first of its kind in Russia. The complex represented three-storey galleries with through middle passage under glass roof.  In addition to shops, there were banks, hotels, coffee shops, billiards, panpots, anatomical museum, wax museum, as well as various workshops. In 1879, part of the "Passage" premises were occupied by bank "Lyons credit", the only foreign bank authorized to work in Russia. Literary fund held the evenings in a concert hall. Here performed such famous writers as I. S. Turgenev, N. A. Nekrasov, F. M. Dostoevsky, N. G. Chernyshevsky, T. G. Shevchenko.

In 1901 architect S. S. Kozlov rebuilt the building for its new owner, Princess N. A. Baryatinsaya. The building had an additional floor, and  the main entrance was decorated with  two-column front porch. The building design was modified, but Concert Hall stayed the same. In 1904-1906s in that hall a new Drama Theater named after V. F. Komissarzhevskaya was performing plays on the stage. Further, until 1912 operettas were organized here, later changed by "Comedy" theater.

In 1933, the "Passage" became a national department store. In 1934, the building was partially redesigned by draft of N. A. Trotsky. Passage was equipped with stairs and bridge-passage between the galleries..