City Hall has seen many changes

By Ida Indawati Khouw

City Hall, known locally as Balai Kota, is one of many city- owned buildings which has undergone tremendous renovations, to such an extent that the original building was at one point demolished to help accommodate the growing number of city employees. Now listed as one of the capital's 143 protected buildings, the office of the Jakarta governor is one of the city's few well preserved historic buildings. This is the sixth article in a planned series about Jakarta's historical buildings which will run in the Saturday editions of The Jakarta Post.

JAKARTA (JP): The current City Hall on Jl. Medan Merdeka Selatan No. 8 in Central Jakarta was apparently the residence of an important figure during the colonial era.

Books and documents, however, differ over the identity of the official.

Jakarta City Hall, issued in 1995 by the city administration, stated that it was once the residence of the governor of West Java.

The old City Hall was located next to the governor's residence and was already in ruins, according to the document.

A book titled Historical Building of Jakarta states that the current City Hall was once the home of the Burgemeester, or the city's mayor, as well as the office for the city's administration.

However, one fact remains the same.

During the Dutch colonial era, the two neighboring buildings -- the residence and the old City Hall --- stood along Koningsplein (King's Square) street, which is now called Jl. Medan Merdeka Selatan.

Prior to occupying the building on Koningsplein street, Jakarta's City Hall was located in the area of West Tanah Abang, now known as Jl. Abdul Muis, where it stood for six years beginning in 1913, according to sources.

Another book states that in the 18th century the old City Hall was located in the building which now houses the Jakarta Historical Museum, or Fatahillah Museum, in downtown Kota.

City Hall moved from this location sometime in the early 1900s on the orders of then Batavia governor-general Herman Willem Daendels, according to the book.

The office then moved to the prestigious Koningsplein area in 1919.

Some 35 years later, after Indonesia had already gained its independence, the third Jakarta governor, Soediro, extended City Hall by annexing the neighboring residence, which was built in the 1850s.

Soediro moved his office to this annexed residence, which has since this time served as the office of the city governor.

This building, with its superb doors, pillars and furniture, still evince the beauty of its youth.

The vast beautiful European-style garden, with large trees dotting the landscape behind the building, have disappeared, being replaced by a 24-story complex of city administration offices.

Back in the early 1900s, the Koningsplein area -- now known as Monas Square -- and its surroundings were a residential area for wealthy and powerful Dutch families.

The area was home to large residences, with their accompanying expansive lawns, and scores of houseboys and female domestic servants.

In the afternoons, the Dutch women spent their leisure hours strolling about and chatting with their neighbors.

"In an attempt to show off their clothes and other belongings, these ladies sometimes walked to the nearby Harmonie building (the oldest club in Asia at that time) or Schouwburg (now the Gedung Kesenian Jakarta theater)," said Djauhari Sumintardja, an expert on historical buildings.

He said the complex of large and similar Dutch-style houses which encircled the 80-hectare Koningsplein, was the capital's top residential area at the time.

The mammoth size of the rooms in City Hall are therefore not really surprising.

For example, the room which used to serve as a dining room when the building was still a residence is the size of a ball hall in a present-day five-star hotel.

Unlike the often criticized demolition of other old buildings in the city, the destruction of the former City Hall was generally approved by preservationists.

"The demolition is understandable for the sake of the greater interest, which was to accommodate the growing number of employees," said Nadia P. Rinandi, a young architect actively promoting the preservation of old buildings.

According to Wastu Pragantha Zhong, the former head of the city building arrangement and restoration agency, the city administration chose to protect and use the former residential building as the office of the Jakarta governor mainly due to the fact that the size of the old City Hall was inadequate for the growing number of employees.

"We were, in fact, forced and agreed to demolish the former City Hall. Besides, the old building was also less beautiful," Zhong said.

The demolition took place from 1968 to 1972.

During the colonial era, City Hall was home to some 1,200 employees. After the country's independence in 1945, the number of city employees doubled.

There were over 60,000 people city employees in 1980, and today that number has risen to 75,000.

Following the demolition of the old City Hall, the administration built a 24-story building on the former site for the city's agencies.

The building was entirely designed and constructed by indigenous Indonesians.

According to Zhong, the building is a landmark for Indonesian architects, since it was the first time a local architect had designed and constructed a skyscraper.

"It was done under the order of (then) governor Ali Sadikin," he said. "The only foreigner involved was a Japanese who we hired as consultant."

Since then, the building has undergone continuous renovation. It now consists of nine blocks, including the city council building.

City employee Tugino, who has worked at City Hall since the early 1970s, described the skyscraper as the most grand and luxurious building in the capital.

Unfortunately, the absence of professionalism inside the glorious building, which has been equipped with meeting halls and a fitness center, is apparent.

In every corner of the building, one sees city employees sitting around, chatting, reading the newspaper or playing table tennis.

The question then is whether the employees should also be preserved like the building.