The second half of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century brought a period of rapid growth to Oleksandriia. The city gained a theatre, a teachers' seminary, a hospital and several educational institutions. One of the earliest was the girls' progymnasium, which opened its doors in 1873 and quickly became a progressive centre of education and culture.

Remarkably, the building has never lost its educational purpose. Over the years, it housed a girls' gymnasium and a pedagogical college. Today, it is home to a branch of the Central Ukrainian Scientific Lyceum and a centre of the Junior Academy of Sciences, where young researchers take their first steps into the world of science.

The building itself is an architectural landmark. Its arched windows and surviving historic details offer glimpses of its long past. At the beginning of the 20th century, part of the building was illuminated by an unusual glass ceiling. The building is also surrounded by legends of underground passages, adding a touch of mystery to its history.

The gymnasium stands at one of Oleksandriia's distinctive star-shaped intersections. These unusual urban forms were created under the city's first Master Plan, when streets radiated outwards from Soborna Square like the points of a star. It is a remarkable feature that still defines the character of the historic centre today.