The modern street's name Mokhovaya is a derivative from Chamovaya, which dates back to 1720s, when the local road ran along the Chamovnicheskian Sloboda (the weavers' settlement, where workers from the Wharf [ru] and the Admiralty lived).

By the late 18th century, the social strata of local inhabitants changed to more wealthy citizens like prosperous merchants and even some noblemen, such as the Stroganovs, the Skvaronskys, the Vorontsovs, etc.

Until the mid 19th century, the street still had some small wooden houses (1-2 storeys high), the pavements were also made of wood and sided by the shallow drains.

Many prominent architects like Ippolit Monighetti, Victor Schröter, Leon Benois, and Fyodor Lidval constructed impressive private mansions and revenue houses on Mokhovaya Street for noble families, such as the Obolenskys, the Skarzynskis,[2] the Tolstoys, the Grabbes, the Dashkovs, etc.

In that period, the central heating was changed from stove to steam, so the wood sheds in the courtyards were replaced by new stone house wings, children's playgrounds, and auxiliary buildings.