Jl. Antara, forlorn reminder of old Batavia

Jl. Antara, forlorn reminder of old Batavia

By Ida Indawati Khouw

If you open any books on the Jakarta of old and the one of today,
a site which will appear in the pages of both and still keeps a
feeling of yesterday is the area along Jl. Antara in Sawah Besar,
Central Jakarta. The sad news is that some of the old buildings
have been poorly neglected. This is the fourth article in a
planned series about Jakarta's historical buildings in the
Saturday editions of The Jakarta Post.

JAKARTA (JP): Early this week at about midday, a half-naked
man was sound asleep on a heap of cartons in front of an old
building's entrance on the 500-meter avenue of Jl. Antara.

It seemed that nobody or nothing could interrupt his nap,
including the noisy street traffic passing him along the street.

The empty building with plywood walls and painted surfaces
severely cracked from age did not disturb him as a resting place.

A few blocks away, three old buildings with ornamented pillars
and tiny railings at the top adds nuance to its contrasting
broken windows and peeling ceilings.

Upon entering one of the buildings, one is greeted with the
echoing sounds of his/her own footsteps and the tick-tock of the
old fans on the ceiling.

Welcome to Jl. Antara, home of eight buildings, including the
former offices of Domei Japanese news agency, which have all been
protected under a gubernatorial decree as city properties but are
severely lacking in proper maintenance.

Located in the vicinity of the hustle and bustle of Pasar Baru
shopping area, most of the buildings -- particularly numbers 25,
27, 29, 51, 53 and 55 on the street -- were designed with
European architecture and built in 1906. They have been used for
years as shops and offices.

The former Domei offices, numbers 57 and 58 on Jl. Antara, are
built in Corinthian style and were taken over by the Indonesian
government following independence. They now become the office and
photo gallery of state news agency Antara.

But the buildings have been neglected for years, and many have
fallen to ruin one by one, leaving a horrible impression with all
passersby.

One of the three adjoining buildings is rented by a law firm.
No one would suspect that he or she is in someone's office as the
only piece of furniture in the dimly lit reception is a broken
dusty sofa.

The scene becomes more frightful if the wind shakes the
windows and door hinges creak in protest.

Occupants and owners of the buildings acknowledged they had no
idea the premises were protected.

"We just rent the office. So we didn't know whether the place
was protected or not," said Teguh, an employee of Rio Samantha,
Novian and Associates law firm office.

Husin P., a tenant who runs Hobie Karya printing business and
stationery shop next to the law firm, echoed the same comment.

"We never receive any notices from parties prohibiting us from
renovating my property," said the man, who was in his 60s and had
let his gray beard become long.

Husin, who has rented the building since 1948 from someone
living in Sukabumi, West Java, also did not know that he could be
taken to court for damaging the building's marble floors. A heavy
printing machine had dropped on the floor one day.

He also didn't know he could be charged for destroying a long
blue relief of fish surrounding the lower part of the wall, which
he said happened after he was hammering the wall for some reason.

But Jl. Antara is still dubbed one of the few sites in the
capital where a group of antique buildings still exist.

Archeologist Candrian Attahiyat said the area used to be a
prominent business district in the area during the Dutch colonial
era.

"People called it Weltevreden," he said.

But people conducting business activities can no longer be
seen along the street.

Nowadays, the street is clogged with sidewalk vendors and
parked cars of shoppers visiting the Pasar Baru complex.

No one, including the experts, know the exact function each
remaining structure had in the past.

Husin speculated his building was once used as a Dutch coffee
house called Steyr as inscribed on a decorated lamp on the top
floor of the building.

He wasn't sure, however, because there is a small plaque on
the wall of the building which was inscribed saying it was a
branch of an information office.

The inscription reads: Informatiebureau De Hermandad,
Batoetoelis No. 26 Bijkantoor Priok... Dir: J.F.J. Wanders.

Chairman of the city restoration team, Wisnu Murti Ardjo, said
the street was once a business district which was developed
following the success story of neighboring Pasar Baru shopping
complex in the early 20th century.

Observer Rahim Bekend said the Ciliwung river, located
parallel to the front of the street, was once used by local
people for laundry.

At the time, the water was of course still clean and
unpolluted, he added.

"Several local people did their laundry business there. They
got their orders from wealthy families, especially Dutch and
Chinese. Some household helpers also washed the apparel of their
employers there," Bekend explained.

The street is famous because of two separate Antara news
agency buildings, which were used to spread the news to the world
of Indonesia's Proclamation of Independence on Aug. 17, 1945.

The street was previously called Postweg Noord (post office's
northern street), named after its position beside a nearby post
office.

The name was then changed to Jl. Pos Utara before finally
being named after the historic Antara building.