Medan strives to save historical buildings

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.