Until the 1710s, the space of the future St. Isaac's Square was occupied by glacis (a gentle earthen rampart in front of the outer moat of a fortress or castle) and an esplanade (a wide open area in front of a fortification) of the Admiralty fortress. Subsequently, these defensive elements were removed due to the Admiralty losing its fortification significance, and their place was taken by chaotic development of private houses: wooden or wattle-and-daub. The St. Petersburg fire of 1736 destroyed most of the city's wooden buildings. On St. Isaac's Square alone and in the adjacent areas, then called the Naval Settlement, the fire destroyed about 100 houses—almost the entire wooden development on the site of the then square. The northern part of the square remained vacant, taking the form of an uneven trapezoid.

In the early 19th century, with the support of Russian Emperor Alexander I, who wished to make St. Petersburg "more beautiful than all the visited capitals of Europe," it was decided to build a new, fourth St. Isaac's Cathedral on the site of the third one, which was noted for its poor construction quality. Active work on designing and building the temple began as early as 1813, but for various reasons, the start of construction had to be postponed. In 1816, a Committee for Buildings and Hydraulic Works was formed (contemporaries called this structure the "Committee of Beauty and Architectural Discipline"), which, among other things, was instructed to deal with "the regulation of streets and squares." In fact, the construction of the colossal structure began only in 1818.

A pause in the active development of St. Isaac's Cathedral was used by Monferrand and the Committee of Beauty and Architectural Discipline, headed by engineer Betancourt, to rethink the layout of the territory around the under-construction temple. The northern part of St. Isaac's Square (that is, the side visible from the Senate Square and the Bronze Horseman) was made rectangular in shape by the architects' decision. This was achieved, among other things, by cutting off a triangular plot from the northeastern corner of the square, formed by the future St. Isaac's Cathedral, Admiralty, and Voznesensky Avenues. It is believed that this planning decision originated from Alexander I himself. According to legend, while traveling through the capital with Prince Alexander Lobanov-Rostovsky, the autocrat expressed dissatisfaction with the inappropriate appearance of St. Isaac's Square—the prince allegedly said nothing in response but a year later showed the monarch a mansion built on his own initiative and at his own expense.

In 1817, a plot of land in the northeastern corner of St. Isaac's Square was given to the wife of Alexander Yakovlevich, Cleopatra Ilyinichna Lobanova-Rostovskaya, for the construction of a mansion designed by August Monferrand. On August 10, 1817, the St. Petersburg administration ordered two copies of the plan "for the place most graciously granted by His Imperial Majesty to retired Colonel Prince Lobanov-Rostovsky on St. Isaac's Square" from the city surveyor Kashkin. On April 22, 1818, a note was left in the "Book for recording plans and facades issued to residents of the 1st Admiralty part," maintained by the Committee for Buildings and Hydraulic Works, stating that A. Y. Lobanov-Rostovsky "wishes to build a stone house according to the attached facades," with an addendum that the owner of the plot "undertook to complete the said [stone house], to erect and cover it necessarily by November of the following 1819."

The initial designs of the house were not monumental and contained many refined, exquisite French elements—balconies, stucco decoration of the main groups, balustrades, etc. The original concept of Lobanov-Rostovsky's house was largely similar to the early projects of the Mikhailovsky Palace, being built at the same time but by another architect, Carlo Rossi. Perhaps this feature is connected with Alexander I's role in designing both buildings, who apparently was not only one of the patrons of these structures but also directly participated in the development of sketches and plans. The buildings differed insignificantly, but the solution of the side risalits and the central entrance and, in principle, the compositional idea were almost identical. Nevertheless, the architects added monumentality to their projects by increasing the number of columns in the porticos and strengthening the central segments of the facade. Overall, Monferrand abandoned delicate details and settled on the most suitable option for the urban role of the building under construction, executed in the Empire style.

The organization and coordination of financial and administrative matters related to the construction of the house were handled by the household office of the Lobanov-Rostovsky couple. Construction work—"excavation of pits, driving piles, and laying foundations," which took only one year—began in 1818, although as early as October 1817, the office announced a contract for the supply of 5 million bricks by spring 1818, and on April 15 of the same year, plasterers were invited to the construction site, a tender was announced for the supply of sand and "sludge clay." Construction began with the installation of piles supporting the foundations, which were laid at a depth of 2.85 meters and made of rubble stone slabs. The foundation—a traditional strip foundation for that time—still supports the building, constructed on poor, marshy soil near the Neva River bank. Experience working with unstable soil proved useful to August Monferrand in erecting the colossal St. Isaac's Cathedral.

Beams supporting the ceilings were made of "red pine." The ceilings themselves were made of oak. The column details (capitals and bases) in the house vestibule were cast from bronze at Berd's factory. The roof was made of black iron produced at the Yakovlev factories, while all (except the main) stair railings with their distinctive meander pattern in the upper belt and three balconies on Voznesensky Avenue were cast from cast iron.

By early September 1819, the Lobanov-Rostovskys began renting out rooms in the new building: "On St. Isaac's Square, in the house of the adjutant-flügeladjutant of Prince Lobanov-Rostovsky, in addition to those intended for rent in the coming year, 6 cellars, 4 shops, and an apartment on the bel étage with a large hall, suitable for establishing a club or other gathering, are rented out, which will be completely finished and handed over no later than September 1, 1820," according to the "St. Petersburg Gazette."

However, the construction of the house was only fully completed by 1820, when all finishing works inside the massive building were finished.

From the very beginning, the house on St. Isaac's Square was conceived by the Lobanov-Rostovsky couple as an income house—a residential building adapted for renting apartments. Moreover, the idea of such use of this remarkable plot was proposed by the prince's wife, Cleopatra Ilyinichna. After the building was completed, she managed the affairs of the enterprise. Thus, the prince's family initially hardly lived there.

In the summer of 1821, the building housed the Leonchini brothers' art shop, where, for example, "a very good collection of various alabaster vases of different sizes, lamps, and other items" was sold. The salon of entrepreneurs who came from Italy was located on the first floor. Nevertheless, the mansion was little known among potential tenants, so already in the autumn of the same year, an advertising campaign was launched, which, as it turned out later, bore fruit. The inventory conducted in 1824 provides detailed information about the tenants of the princely family's house. The annual income from this income house reached 100,000 rubles.

Part of the fourth-floor premises was unfinished and unoccupied; however, it was here that the rooms "used by Princess Lobanova-Rostovskaya," the direct mistress of the house, were located—as well as "the other chambers, sheds, and stables."

According to other accounts, the Provisions Department of the military ministry also occupied spaces on the third and fourth floors, and a beer cellar was located on the first floor. Overall, the functions of the various premises were dictated by the building's layout: enfilades of living rooms and reception rooms stretched along the facades facing Admiralty Meadow and St. Isaac's Square, while the wing whose facade faced Voznesensky Avenue was adapted for rental apartments.

Various social events were regularly held in the Lobanov-Rostovsky house, many of which took place in the main enfilade facing Admiralty Meadow. At one time, the building housed the "Cosmorama" of the painter Sur—a special exhibition capable of creating a stereoscopic, in simpler terms, volumetric perception of the displayed picture thanks to special optical equipment. Sur usually showed views of German and some European cities (Berlin, Hamburg, Vienna, Rome); among them was Taganrog, then sadly known as the place of Emperor Alexander I's death. The Cosmorama was very popular with contemporaries: "If these views do not contain significant artistic merit, the optical part is brought to perfection," wrote the recent "Domestic Notes." Another famous Cosmorama by Sur was a panorama of the battle between the armies of Alexander the Great and Darius at the Granicus River—"and at the moment when the Persians flee, pursued by the Macedonians, the bridge under them collapses." Admission to this show cost 2 rubles 50 kopecks per person.

For lovers of the French language, Monsieur Saint-Maur continued his literary evenings even during the current Great Lent. He reads the best passages from Corneille, Racine, Molière, and other dramatic writers, as well as from Boileau, Voltaire, Delille, and others. A subscription for 10 such evenings costs 75 rubles per person. The readings take place in the new house of Princess Lobanova-Rostovskaya.

Another entrepreneur renting premises in the house was Angelo Toselli. He exhibited in the main enfilade the "Scenography of Jerusalem and the holy places surrounding it," about which the reviewer Svinin noted: "This spectacle very much resembles a theatrical stage, only incomparably livelier," referring to the tricks Toselli used to make the performances more engaging. For example, eyewitnesses reported that the drawing of the Jerusalem spring by Caille was accompanied by sound effects—the murmur of water. The entrance fee for Toselli's "Scenography..." was 5 rubles per person. Today, Toselli is best known to the public as the creator of a watercolor panorama of St. Petersburg from the Kunstkamera tower, made around the same time the Lobanov-Rostovsky house was built. This watercolor is now kept in the Hermitage.

On November 7, 1824, during a devastating flood, St. Isaac's Square was flooded so that only the buildings were visible above the water. This was reflected in city folklore and art. Thus, in the first third of the 19th century, a tale circulated in the capital about a certain Yakovlev, who supposedly was walking around the city on the eve of the catastrophic flood. When the disaster began and the water started rising, Yakovlev headed home but, reaching the Lobanov-Rostovsky house on the square, realized that it was simply impossible to go further. As a result, Yakovlev climbed onto one of the lion sculptures "looking" at the flooded city "with a raised paw, as if alive." Yakovlev was saved because he "sat on the lion all the time during the flood." Eventually, the legend was reflected in Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin's poem "The Bronze Horseman":

…On Peter's Square,

Where a new house rose in the corner,

Where above the elevated porch

With a raised paw, as if alive,

Stand two guardian lions,

On the marble beast astride,

Without a hat, hands crossed,

Sate motionless, terribly pale,

Yevgeny…

Despite the income brought by tenants, nine years after the house's completion, the Lobanov-Rostovsky couple found themselves in debt. On July 1, 1824, the 1st and 2nd floors of the mansion were leased to the Military Ministry for 63,000 rubles per year for use by only some departments of the military ministry, including the office of the military minister, the commissions of provisions affairs and Finnish provisions affairs, the provisions and medical departments.

Based on a case about the reconstruction of the house for the Military Ministry, still stored in the Military Historical Archive, conclusions can be drawn about the number, location, and sizes of halls, chambers, and other premises rented by the ministry.

In 1828, the owner of the estate, a well-known bibliophile and collector Lobanov-Rostovsky, decided to raffle it off. One million lottery tickets were issued with a nominal value of one ruble each. One of the ticket buyers was supposed, according to the prince's plan, to become the new owner of the mansion. But Emperor Nicholas I forbade this commercial scheme and suggested that the prince sell the house and the unique library, known for its collection of works about Mary Stuart and a collection of rare canes and sticks, to the treasury. The deal amounted to 1,005,000 rubles in banknotes; for the transfer of the valuable library, Lobanov-Rostovsky was granted a lifelong pension, and it was finally decided to house the Military Department in the mansion on a lease basis due to its growing needs. Such a transfer of real estate from ruined nobles to the patronizing but objectively not needing the cramped noble estates state was a common practice in Petersburg at that time. Since the house was not adapted to the needs of a government institution, in 1829 a reconstruction of the building was undertaken under the direction of architect Anert.

Nevertheless, in early 1907, researcher N. A. Danilov wrote in his "Historical Essay on the Activities of the Office of the Military Ministry and the Military Council" that the exterior of the former Lobanov-Rostovsky mansion had been preserved since the time of its previous owners "without the slightest change." Most of the changes, according to Danilov, affected the interiors. At the same time, only the main entrance (from Admiralty Avenue) and the main staircase remained untouched. The decor of all other rooms underwent significant changes to adapt them for the offices and apartments of the Military Department employees. The large hall, after being transferred to the ministry, was occupied by the office of the military minister, his reception room, and the "2nd administrative office" of the authority. Originally, the large hall was two-storied, and only later was the space at the level of the 3rd floor separated from the rest of the hall by ceilings "to arrange apartments." Overall, the painting that once decorated the walls and ceiling in 26 rooms was lost.

After October 1917, the house was taken under state protection. From 1918 to 1964, it housed a school, which repeatedly changed its numbers and name. Since 1941, it was named Secondary School No. 239 of the October District of Leningrad, becoming a physics and mathematics school in 1961. During the blockade, the school continued its educational work. It occupied the entire right half of the house from the central entrance, the facade facing St. Isaac's Cathedral, and the corner facing Bolshaya Morskaya Street. The part of the building facing Voznesensky Avenue was occupied by residential premises. There was a stable in the yard. During the blockade, the sturdy basement part of the building was converted into a bomb shelter. For sports activities, the school used the alleys of Alexander Garden. Since 1964, the school gave way to Design Institute No. 1, which existed in this building until 2004.

In 2002, the Lion House passed to the Presidential Administration, which intended to adapt it for the Constitutional Court relocating to Petersburg. However, it was later decided to create the most luxurious hotel in the city within its walls, ready to receive the highest state officials. The building was leased for 49 years to the company CJSC "Tristar Investment Holdings."

Since the Lobanov-Rostovsky House is included in the federal list of protected cultural heritage sites, questions about its reconstruction sparked heated debate both in the architectural community and in the press.

"This is a gross violation of current legislation in the field of historical heritage protection. The Lobanov-Rostovsky House is a federal monument in the very center of a UNESCO World Heritage site, where no reconstruction could be allowed—such a building can only be restored," said Alexander Margolis.

Investors demolished the historic wing in the courtyard (2007), designed, like the entire building, by architect August Monferrand. The courtyard wing of the building was also designed by Monferrand; the first floor was built in 1817–1820, and later added to by architect E. H. Anert. The interiors of the main building were damaged and lost, and the roof contours were altered. The city public, including professionals such as restoration architect Butyrin, actively opposed this.

Another violation was the construction of an attic, which turned out to be 18 centimeters higher than the original roof. Initially, it was supposed to be even higher—80 centimeters—but under public pressure, "Tristar Investment Holdings" decided to lower it. Nevertheless, the superstructure is still clearly visible.

"This violates the traditional appearance of the monument. And generally, such attics are not characteristic of a high classicism monument and therefore are unacceptable. The members of the council for the preservation of cultural heritage unanimously opposed the attic, but despite this, it was built," says Mikhail Milchik.

The chief architect of the project was Evgeny Gerasimov, head of his own workshop. The restoration of the protected zones was handled by Rafael Dayanov. The interior design was done by the California company "Cheryl Rowley" and the Japanese studio "Spin Design Studio."

The main question that concerned the public was how the new functions of the building would align with its historical "shell," what would be preserved and restored, and what would have to be sacrificed. In the case of the Lobanov-Rostovsky House, the concept of "original interiors" is quite conditional. Already in 1829, when the Military Ministry moved into the house, it began to replan it for its needs. Possibly, even the decoration of the main staircase with a wide sculptural frieze depicting military armor was made for the ministry, not for the first owner—also, however, a brave general distinguished in the campaign against Napoleon. Spacious offices were arranged for ministry employees, which in Soviet times served as classrooms of the secondary school and later housed Design Institute No. 1. Ultimately, the protected zone of the new hotel includes the main lobby from Admiralty Avenue, a two-flight main staircase with a fireplace on the 2nd-floor landing, the 2nd-floor enfilade, and another room whose historical value was established during the restoration process.

Architectural critic Mikhail Zolotonosov called the house reconstruction project one of the worst examples of architecture in the city in 2010:

In 2013, the restored hotel came under the control of the Canadian hotel chain Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts under the name Lion Palace ("Lion's Palace").

Sources:

https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Дом_Лобанова-Ростовского