Unsatisfied with its primitive settlements of single-story houses and dilapidated fishing huts, Miloš begun to transform the area in the hopes of turning Belgrade into a modern city.

Postal stations were named after them, and according to tradition, Manak's House was on the line on which Tatars carried official letters and public documents.

The house was later bought by the Greek Manojlo Manak, who in the late 19th century had a bakery and a tavern on the ground-floor, and abided on the second floor.

A photograph at Belgrade City Museum shows an inscription with the name of Arsa Petrović, in front of which are tables on the sidewalk.

Besides the interest of photographers, the layout of Manak's House was drawn by architect Štaudinger and graphic artist Luka Mladenović.

However, its destruction was prevented: between 1964 and 1968, the Cultural Heritage Preservation Institute of Belgrade performed the necessary restoration and conservation work to revive it.

The structure now hosts the ethnographic collection of Hristifor Crnilović (1886-1963), a painter and collector of objects of folk heritage and art.