The legendary building, which is often used as a meeting point in Kharkiv, is located at Sumska Street, 1.

This Art Nouveau landmark was built for the Russo-Asian Bank.

The building was designed by architects O. R. Munts and A. K. Spiegel, and constructed by architect M. F. Piskunov between 1908 and 1910. Originally, the building had four stories.

In 1925–1926, an additional story was successfully added to the building according to a design by architect I. D. Ermilov.

In his book *Kharkiv: Architecture, Monuments, and New Buildings: A Guide* (1985), O. Leibfreid noted that the building’s interior still features the bank’s former operating hall with octagonal columns clad in stone.

Two floors of the building were also leased by the Kharkiv Medical Society starting in 1910 for the Women’s Medical Institute (renamed the Kharkiv Medical Institute in 1920). The building also housed the institute’s academic library, gymnasium, and physical education department.

In addition to the medical institute, the building also housed the All-Union Research Institute for the Organization of Production and Labor in the Ferrous Metallurgy Industry. Stained-glass windows in the Soviet modernist style were installed inside the building.

The building currently houses the State Institute of Labor and Socio-Economic Research, as well as various commercial entities.

The legendary 16-meter thermometer was manufactured at the Institute of Metrology and installed on the building in 1976. The current thermometer is not the same as it was in 1976 – it is the third one. Its temperature sensor is located not in direct sunlight, but in the building’s courtyard.

In the 1990s, the building was restored according to a design developed by V. Novgorodov and specialists from the Kharkiv branch of the Ukrproektrestavratsiya Institute.