The museum was established in the apartment of Lithuanian writer Antanas Venclova (author of the anthem of Soviet Lithuania) where he lived between 1945 and 1971.

 The poet, essayist, professor and publisher Tomas Venclova grew up and lived here until 1961, when he moved to Moscow and, later, to Saint Petersburg. In 1976 the Soviet government suggested that he accepts a position in Berkeley University, and in the following year he both moved to the States and was deprived of a Soviet passport.