Rajinder Kothi was also known as Baradari Kothi because it was built around a grand Baradari (an open pavilion with 12 arches) also giving its name to the adjacent Baradari Garden. This sprawling garden-palace laid out around a Mughal-style baradari, was built in 1876 by the then ruler of Patiala Maharaja Rajinder Singh. Till then all the rulers of Patiala had lived at Qila Mubarak. The ruler wanted to move out of his residence and hence conceived the Baradari Kothi, the Baradari Gardens, the cricket ground, and the Patiala mono rail. The planning and construction of the gardens and the buildings were done by the ruler's younger brother Kaur Sahib Ranbir Singhji.
This late 19th century palace, built in colonial style, housed the Punjab States Archives till recently. After the death of Maharaja Rajinder Singh in 1900, the new ruler Maharaja Bhupinder Singh - who was only nine years old - and later the Yuvraj (later Maharaja Yadavindra Singh), and the Maharaj Kumar (later Raja Bhalinder Singh), and his eldest sister the Maharaj Kumari Surinder Kaur continued to live in the Baradari Kothi.
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