The museum is located in the centre of the city, in the palatial mansion at 4 Havanna Street.

The mansion was built in 1876 by Odesa architect, Felix Gonsiorovskiy, for one of the major representatives of the industrial and commercial elite, Alexander Yakovlevich Novikov.

Until 1899, the mansion was known in Odesa as the "House of Novikov," and in the early 20th century it was acquired by the city.

It includes: documents signed by Catherine II, Grigory Potemkin, Alexander Suvorov, Platon Zubov, Mikhail Kutuzov, José de Ribas, Louis Alexandre Andrault de Langeron; architectural and engineering designs of buildings which are representative of Odesa; graphic and pictorial works of artists in Odesa; portraiture from 18th–early 20th centuries painted by A. Moklakovski, E. Bukovetsky, H. Kuznetsov, G. Chestahovski, D. Krainev; collection of icons, weapons and household items, numismatic and cartographic material.

Currently, the museum houses a number of permanent exhibits: "Old Odesa", "Odesa and the end of World War II, 1941–1945", "Weapons of the museum's collection", "The Ukrainian Steppe" (located at Lanzheronovska Street, 24a).