The history of the city water supply building dates back to 1827, when it was decided to rebuild and expand the city’s water supply network, which was first created back in 1804. It was necessary to replace wooden pipes with cast iron ones and install a new steam water-lifting machine. In 1836-1839, according to the project of military engineers Lebedev and Tatarinov, a two-story domed building with a six-column portico was erected.

The building had two steam engines of 8 horsepower each, designed to pump water from a reservoir located behind the building, which received water from the bay. From there, the water was raised by a machine to a tank located on the second floor, and later it was fed into the city network that served the hospital, baths and water columns.

In the second half of the 19th century, the building was remodeled, thus receiveing its modern look. After the reconstruction, only the distinctive portico with six columns survived.

Today, the Kronstadt History Museum resides in the city water supply building. The museum itself opened in 1991 and did not have a permanent building at first, but was relocated to its now permanent space in 2006.

The basis of its archive is the works of local history experts and numerous documents collected over the years. Museum funds were formed with an active participation of Kronstadt residents, who donated old household items, photographs, historical documents. The stock collections of the museum include about 8 thousand items belonging to the period of the 19th-20th centuries. Museum visitors can learn about prominent people who lived and worked in Kronstadt throughout its history.

The museum houses an exhibition “History of shipwrecks”, which displays items recovered from ships that sank in the Gulf of Finland. In the square near the museum building there is a horizontal sundial (the largest in St. Petersburg) and the “Kronstadt Water Carrier” sculpture-fountain.