Situated in “old Surabaya”‚ this stately Dutch colonial-style
compound was built in 1862 and is now a preserved historical site. Previously used as an orphanage managed by the Dutch‚
it was purchased in 1932 by Liem Seeng Tee‚ the founder of
Sampoerna‚ with the intent of it being used as Sampoerna’s
first major cigarette production facility.

The compound consisted of a large central auditorium‚ two
smaller buildings on the east and west sides and numerous
large‚ single story‚ open-space structures behind the central
auditorium. The side buildings were converted to family
residences and the large warehouse-like structures were used
to accommodate facilities for tobacco and clove processing‚
blending‚ hand-rolling and packaging‚ printing and finished
goods processing.

Today‚ the compound is still functioning as a production plant
for Indonesia’s most prestigious cigarette‚ Dji Sam Soe. In
commemoration of Sampoerna’s 90th anniversary in 2003‚
the central complex has been painstakingly restored and is
now open to public.

The original central auditorium is now a museum and the east
side has been transformed into a unique structure containing
a café, a merchandise kiosk and an art gallery. The building
on the west side remains the official family residence.