A House of Industry was a form of assistance that emerged in Russia at the end of the 19th century to support vulnerable groups of the population and promote their social integration by providing paid work, food, and sometimes shelter.
In 1898, a building was constructed on Konnaya Square according to the design of architect Linevich—a House of Industry for the unemployed. It was built with a noble purpose—as an overnight shelter, but it was donated by the city authorities to establish a House of Industry as part of a special program to aid the unemployed: in 1895, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna took under her patronage a new, little-known form of charity intended to assist able-bodied unemployed people. In Kharkiv, the initiator of the House of Industry was Colonel Spitzberg, commander of the Orenburg Cossack Regiment. The mission of this institution was to provide shelter and a small income for the unemployed; accordingly, the building housed carpentry, sewing, bookbinding, and tailoring workshops, and an office for hiring domestic servants was also opened there.