Medan strives to save historical buildings

By Apriadi Gunawan

MEDAN, North Sumatra (JP): For the townsfolk, the Kesawan area is more than simply a bustling commercial district. Located in the heart of the provincial capital city on Jl. A. Yani, it is a historic old city best-known for its history-steeped buildings.

Kesawan has played a key role in the development of Medan. According to Tengku Luckman Sinar, a Malay historian who authored Sejarah Medan Tempo Doeloe (The History of the Old Medan), "Kesawan" is derived from the local words ke sawah (to the farm). The name referred to the origin of the district -- rice fields.

In the past, Kesawan was known as a commercial center with the activity centered along a single road which was home to several wooden shops belonging to Chinese traders.

In the course of time, the area developed. The rich traders rebuilt their wooden buildings in brick in the Chinese shop-house architectural style. One of the most successful Chinese businesspeople was Tjong A Fie, a prominent figure in the plantation business between 1875 and 1921. He built his house in 1900 in the Chinese architectural style with two stone lion statues imported from China at the entrance gate.

As the area continued to prosper, buildings other than shop- houses were constructed: printing houses, banks, offices and restaurants. They were monumental and had beautiful architectural styles.

One of these is the AVROS building located at one end of Jl. Kesawan. According to Tours through Historic Medan and Its Surroundings written by Dutch historians Dirk A. Buiskool and Tjeerd Koudenburg, AVROS was built between 1918 and 1919 by G.H. Mulder.

It is a five-storey building with arched balconies and ceilings. The glass windows are large and the stairways made of mahogany. It stands out for its tower with a black dome on top where 1918 is inscribed. The thick-walled building is well- maintained and is currently the office of the North Sumatra Plantation Companies Cooperation Board (BKS-PPS).

Another landmark was the office of Nederlandsch Indische Escompto Maatschappij which was designed by Fermont Cuypers- Weltevreden in 1927. This building at the other end of Jl. Kesawan currently houses the offices of Bank Dagang Negara. It has had its interior renovated but it retains a plaque with information about the building.

Adjacent to Bank Dagang Negara is another old building which is now home to the North Sumatra Tourism Bureau and Tourist Information Center. In the Past, the building was used successively as a bookstore, a publishing house and a printing house. The Sumatra Post newspaper was printed here.

Just across from Tjong A Fie's house is the Tip Top restaurant, which was very famous during Dutch colonial times. Although the restaurant's interior has been renovated, it remains popular among Medan townspeople and foreign tourists alike. Near the restaurant was the China Bank building, which is now used as the offices of Bank Putera.

There is also the Juliana Building, which used to be the property of Harrison & Crosfield, a British plantation company. Today, the building is home to another British plantation company, London Sumatra. This was the first building in Medan to use an escalator in 1910, and it still works today.

Close to the London Sumatra office building is another historic building, the Jakarta Lloyd Office, which used to house the Netherlands Shipping Company and Rotterdam Lloyd.

Endangered

The historic buildings in Kesawan are facing big problems. Many have been demolished and rebuilt in completely different architectural styles, while the existing ones have maintenance problems.

Tjong A Fie's house, which has been promoted as a tourist destination, suffers from poor maintenance. Others are in a worse condition.

In fact, the local government issued in 1988 a bylaw on the preservation of historic buildings in Medan but, alas, many of the buildings mentioned in the bylaw have been demolished.

Notorious examples were the Cafe Lynn and two other historic buildings on Jl. A. Yani.

The bylaw lists 80 old buildings which have to be preserved.

The local government has acknowledged that it is difficult to preserve historic buildings because many of them are owned by individuals, not the state.

"If the provincial government wants to see the bylaws being complied with, it has to offer certain concessions, such as paying the maintenance costs and the water and electricity bills for the buildings," says Maulana Pohan, Medan's deputy mayor.

The city government's action to enforce the law has been to appeal to the buildings' owners to preserve their properties as they were originally built. The mayor has also published brochures containing the names and pictures of the historic buildings to be preserved.

Concerned about the situation, Hendra Arbi of the Sumatra Heritage Board, a non-governmental organization, has urged the Medan municipal government to take concrete action to save the buildings, such as information campaigns and the marking of protected historic buildings.

"Involving the community where the buildings are situated is vital," he says.

The mayoralty should also involve the business sector to commercialize the old buildings because a lack of money has become the city government's usual excuse for not properly maintaining the city's heritage.

Poor law enforcement regarding the preservation of old buildings has caused worries that Kesawan will become just like any other commercial center in Medan, devoid of historic buildings.

Hendra says a serious attempt to preserve Kesawan old town will improve Medan's image.

Kesawan, and Medan in general, will benefit economically and retain its precious cultural and historical heritage, he says.