Among the many cities and towns which Maria Zankovetska visited, Kyiv had a special significance in her creative life and fate. In Kyiv the young actress felt success for the first time, performing on the big stage of a professional theater. It was in Kyiv that she worked at the First Ukrainian Stationary Theater of Mykola Sadovsky. She spent the last years of her life in Kyiv (1918-1934).

In Kyiv, in a house at 121 Velyka Vasylkivska Street, the actress's sister Lydia Karnaukhova lived. At the invitation of Lydia Volodya Karnaukhov's son, Maria Zankovetska settled in the house in 1918 and lived until 1934.

The museum was opened in 1960 in apartment No. 4 on the second floor, where the actress lived. It was then the first memorial actors' museum in Ukraine.

In 1980, the cultural monument was demolished. The house was rebuilt in 1989. Currently, the museum's exposition and exhibition halls are located throughout the house.

The museum is located in the center of Kyiv in a cozy square near the metro station Palace Ukraine - st. Velyka Vasylkivska, 121.