The double storey mansion, known at the time as the State Guest House, was built in the early 1900s.[2][3][4] Its architecture was believed to have been inspired by the German-born designer, Henry Alfred Neubronner.
Upon the independence of the Federation of Malaya in 1957, the building was renamed in Malay as Rumah Tetamu.[4] It was inhabited by the first Chief Minister of Penang, Wong Pow Nee, during his tenure between 1957 and 1969.
When Koh Tsu Koon succeeded Lim Chong Eu as the Chief Minister in 1990, the former opted not to move to the mansion, choosing instead to stay in his private residence.[2] Thus the building was left vacated until 2008, when Koh, in turn, was replaced by Lim Guan Eng as the Chief Minister. Although Lim initially moved into the mansion, he was then taken aback by its state of disrepair. Extensive termite infestation forced the then Chief Minister to instruct the state's Public Works Department (JKR) to conduct termite inspection and to repair the mansion, which was simultaneously renamed Seri Teratai.[6] However, the exorbitant repair costs and the building's structural damage led to Lim eventually moving out in July 2009; Lim subsequently resided in his private residence at Pinhorn Road for the remainder of his tenure.[2][6]
Although the current Chief Minister, Chow Kon Yeow, had expressed his intentions of moving into the mansion in 2018, his move has similarly been hampered by the building's repair costs, estimated at RM1.2 million.[2]
