From the side of Gazetny Lane, a heraldic shield can be seen on the house, indicating its former owner. Lev Filippovich (Isaak-Leib Fishelovich) Volkenstein (lived from 1858 to 1935) was a popular Rostov lawyer, theater enthusiast, and author of vaudevilles, like his brother — director of the "Society of Driveway and Railway Paths in Russia," sworn attorney Mikhail Filippovich (Moisei Fishelovich or Falkovich) Volkenstein — who was a gymnasium classmate of Anton Pavlovich Chekhov, as well as the uncle of publicists F. A. Volkenstein and O. A. Volkenstein, poet V. M. Volkenstein, artist M. V. Dobuzhinsky, and accountant O. I. Volkenstein.
The two Taganrog gymnasium students were united by a common passion — theater. One became a playwright, the other, in the 1890s a well-known sworn attorney in Rostov, together with entrepreneur Fain became co-owner of the largest theater in the city, the Asmolovsky Theater.
Entry from Chekhov’s diary at the end of August 1894: "Left Taganrog on August 24. Had dinner in Rostov with my gymnasium friend Lev Volkenstein, who already owns his own house and a summer residence in Kislovodsk."
The own house Chekhov mentions is the Volkenstein house at the corner of Staropochtoy Street (now Stanislavsky) and the current Gazetny (then Kazansky) Lane. At that time, the building was one-story (acquired by Volkenstein in 1890). After thorough renovation, it was adorned with classical decor.
On the eastern wall appeared a molded heraldic shield with lions. Lev Filippovich Volkenstein lived in the house with his wife Sofya Efremovna, two daughters (Alisa and Olga), and a young son (later Parisian lawyer Yuri Volkenstein).
In the 1930s, the building was extended by two floors. From August 1943, it was occupied by the Azov-Don Shipping Company, and later the building became residential again.
The residents of the house heard from their neighbors, who lived there before the war, that Anton Pavlovich Chekhov visited this house. However, they knew nothing about the fate of the house’s owner. The answer to this question is found in the book "Unforgotten Graves. Russian Emigration. 1917-1997." The first volume states that Lev Filippovich Volkenstein died in Paris on May 20, 1935. While in exile, he collaborated with the magazine "Illustrated Russia," where his memoirs about Chekhov were published.
A portrait of sworn attorney Lev Volkenstein was found in an issue of the newspaper "Priazovsky Krai," dedicated to the 25th anniversary of the newspaper. Lev Filippovich was listed as the legal counsel of the editorial office.
