An early morning view of Koningsplein Oost (now Jalan Medan Merdeka Timur) of exactly 90 years ago, with train station Weltevreden (now Stasiun Gambir) on the right side of the road. This train stop already dated back to 1871, however the art deco building we see on the photo here opened in 1929. Although the district name of Weltevreden changed to Batavia Centrum (now Jakarta Pusat) in 1931, the train station retained its name “Weltevreden” until it changed to “Station Koningsplein” in 1937. In 1950 it officially obtained its current name “Gambir”. The art deco train station was demolished in 1992 as the train tracks became elevated and hence the requirement for a new train station.
Tram line 2
At the front we see the elegant poles of tram line 2 which continued until the intersection of Menteng (now Jalan Menteng Raya), Tjikini (Jalan Cikini Raya) and Van Heutszplein (Jalan Cut Meutia). Just beyond the bicycle rider on the left is the turnoff to Hertogspark (now Jalan Pejambon), with the Willemskerk (Gereja Immanuel) on the other side of the road. The road on this photo continues further south until it becomes Prapatan Gambir (now Jalan Ridwan Rais). In the comment section a photo of exact the same site today
source: NMVW, the Netherlands
