The prominent Young Turk activist, statesman, educational reformer Ahmed Rıza and her sister Selma Rıza intended the school to be opened as early as the first decade of the 20th century as the first public girls' high school in the Ottoman Empire, as the girls branch of the Galatasaray High School, but the Balkan Wars, the Italo-Turkish War, and World War I prevented this project from happening.

The residence had been constructed upon orders of her brother, Sultan Abdülaziz (reigned 1861–76) on an unregistered date.

The old Adile Sultan Palace was used as dormitory for boarding girls of the school until 1986, when it burned down due to an electrical short-circuit.

Soon afterwards, some alumni of Kandilli High School established a foundation, and raised funds to rebuild the palace.

Due to lacking funds, however, the former building was only restored and opened again in 2006 upon a donation from billionaire businessman and philanthropist Sakıp Sabancı as a cultural center unaffiliated with the high school.