The exhibition of the Penza Literature Museum includes an old door plate with the name of the famous Russian architect Alexey Yevgenyevich Yakovlev.

Alexey Yakovlev was born in St. Petersburg in 1881. He studied at the Institute of Civil Engineers of Emperor Nicholas I. In November 1910, he won the nationwide contest to design the Alexander II Community Hall (which later became the Penza Drama Theater). He moved to Penza and took on the position of junior city architect.

In the early 20th century, the tastes and cultural education of Penza citizens were determined by the Imperial Museum at the Art School, Nikolay Seliverstov’s Art Gallery, and private theaters. Particularly popular were the theatrical productions at outdoor venues during the summer. The idea of a cultural center with a large theatrical stage and heated rooms for various clubs and meetings was proposed by Deputy Mayor David Vasilyevich Varavilsky. It was in his house that the Yakovlev family stayed when they arrived in Penza. According to experts, the draft project of the Community Hall had a lot of drawbacks. The building was to be constructed in the Art Nouveau style which contrasted with the existing merchant houses in the area. Despite these concerns, the construction of the Community Hall began.

The foundation stone was laid in 1912. Over the next two years, construction progressed rapidly. However, then World War I broke out. As a result, the building, which by then had been leased by the Penza Drama Club named after Vissarion Belinsky, was not opened until September 1916.

In late 1915, Alexey Yakovlev was drafted into the army and assigned to an armored vehicle unit, a new type of armed force for the country. Rifle bullets could not penetrate the armor of these vehicles, and the only vulnerable part was the rubber tires. The Penza engineer proposed using armored rubber to make the tires virtually indestructible. In 1917, Yakovlev went to Petrograd. He emigrated to the United States the following year.