The place for the Mariinsky Palace, which until the 1950s was called the Tsar's Palace, was chosen by Empress Elizabeth herself. The building was built in the middle of the 18th century by the famous architect B. Rastrelli in the Baroque style on the model of the palace of O. Razumovsky. The Royal (City) Garden, and later the Mariinsky Park, were laid out around the palace. Before the October Revolution, the estate belonged to the royal family. It suffered greatly during the Second World War and, after reconstruction by Alyoshin, became a place for the ceremonial receptions. The modern name is dedicated to the wife of Emperor Alexander II, Maria Alexandrovna, on whose initiative the park of the same name was founded.