The urban estate of sugar king Ivan Kharitonenko on Sofiiskaya Embankment, opposite to the Kremlin, was built by architect Vasily Zalessky in 1891-1893, and modernized by Fedor Schechtel on order of Ivan Kharitonenko's son Pavel in 1911. The opulent building housed the British embassy in 1921-2001, and is presently one of the Foreign Ministry guest houses.