Remarkable for its façade, Kchessinskaya mansion was built in 1914 by the Court architect, A von Goguen, for the prima ballerina of the Mariinsky, a favourite of young Nicholas II, who immigrated to Paris after the revolution. In March 1917 it was the headquarters of the Bolshevik Party, and where Lenin, on his return from exile on 3 April 1917, gave a speech to a throng of workers from a balcony, which today bears a commemorative plaque. The edifice is home to the Museum of Political History of Russia.