Old buildings to become tourist attraction centers

By Yoko N. Sari

JAKARTA (JP): Have you ever imagined living in the Dutch colonial period? Maybe yes, maybe no. What about staying in hundreds-of-years-old hotels or eating in restaurants once used as detention centers by the colonial government on the old days?

Whatever the answer, this imagination will soon come into reality as the city administration is currently considering the possibility of reviving the Kota (downtown) area in West Jakarta by allowing private investors to use old buildings as hotels or restaurants.

The city administration is planning to turn Kota's area into tourist attraction centers with nightlife as well as the daytime activities.

"We are reviewing the possibility of issuing permits for used, old buildings in Kota to be renovated into hotels, discotheque centers and restaurants," said Prawoto S. Danoemihardjo, the City Secretary assistant for economy and development affairs.

Prawoto said the plan was made in response to a proposal sent by the Ministry of Tourism, Post and Telecommunications to utilize the charm of old and historical buildings and Kota's environment as one of the city's major tourist attraction centers.

Centuries ago Kota was the center of the Dutch colonial government or, as Dirman Surachmat, head of the city's Museum and History office, puts it, Kota was the root of Jakarta.

Nowadays Kota has grown into a busy and modern center of trade even though its surroundings are filled with hectic traffic and a dirty river.

The Kota area is the oldest area in Jakarta from where foreigners, mostly traders, entered the city through Sunda Kelapa harbor in the middle of the 17th century. The foreigners developed buildings there at that time and changed the area into a center of trade and shipping.

In Kota many of the old buildings still exist, but people are now using these properties for other purposes, such as museums and warehouses. For example Museum Bahari, which was built in 1652, was originally a warehouse to keep enormous stocks of pepper, coffee, tea and cloth owned by the Dutch trading corporation, Verenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie (VOC).

Many of the old buildings in the Kota area, especially inside the fort wall, were built by the colonial government during the 17th century. Included among them is an age-old structures which is now being used as the branch office of the central bank (Bank Indonesia). The building used to be a hospital, while the Wayang museum was a church.

Although the area is still functioning as the center of trade, just as it did hundreds of years ago, many buildings in the area are no longer inhabited.

Historical values

Before going ahead with the plan there is one question that needs answering: Will the renovations impair the historical values of the buildings? The question must be answered in view of the fact that the city has a regulation regarding the need to protect old and historical buildings from being destroyed.

"As an historian, the historical values are important. Any change or inaccuracy to the property is feared to affect the values," Dirman said.

The chief of the city museum and history office said that from an historical point of view everything must be maintained so as to preserve its originality, including its architecture, wood and even the paint.

Commenting on the renovation of one of the old buildings in the Kota area, which is now used as a restaurant, Dirman said that the renovated building has lost its historical values because its wood and paint were changed.

Dirman also said that in line with the city regulation, old and historical buildings are classified into several categories. "The status of buildings grouped into Classification A, consisting mostly of structures which have historical values for example, are not allowed to be changed," he said.

The city administration data show there are 224 old and historical buildings all over Jakarta which are protected by the government under the regulation at present. "These are the only buildings we have managed to preserve," Dirman said.

He also reminded Jakarta not to repeat Amsterdam's exercise in changing the status of a number of old buildings into hotels and restaurants.

"Many historians in the Netherlands are disappointed with the renovation because it is considered to have destroyed their historical values," he said.

"I just want to suggest that we must act based on the gubernatorial decree regarding the preservation of the old and historical properties before renovating or changing their function," Dirman said.

Guarantee

In a related development, West Jakarta mayor Sutardiyanto said that the plan to revive Kota area will not affect buildings with historical value.

"Under the plan, the mayoralty has no intention of using old and historical buildings because they are protected by law," Sutardiyanto said.

He said his mayoralty will give permits only to old building owned by private companies or individuals which are currently used as warehouses.

Prawoto further explained that an investor has expressed interested in transforming the ceramic museum in Kota as a hotel but the city administration has turned it down pending the completion of the city's plan.

There are many things that have to be taken into consideration because reviving the Kota area requires the construction of more facilities, including water networks and roads, he said.

"As the city administration budget does not have enough to build all of these facilities, we also invite private companies to participate in this program," he said.

Prawoto said the daunting traffic jams along Jl. Gajah Mada and Jl. Hayam Wuruk leading to the Kota area, that happen every day, are considered to be one of the problems that could hamper the plan.

"We have to widen the roads that connect Kota to other places in the city and build more flyovers to ease traffic congestions," he added.