Jalan Hayam Wuruk, formerly Molenvliet Oost, in 1951
A rare colour photo of an iconic building on Jalan Hayam Wuruk 56-57, formerly Molenvliet Oost. On the left is the famous Tek Sun Ho “Eerste Weltevredensche Koffiebranderij” (First Coffee Roastery in Weltevreden), Weltevreden being the district which is now known as Jakarta Pusat. This coffee roastery was based along Molenvliet Oost since 1878.
The fourth generation (!) of the same family, now called Widjaja, is still doing business in coffee roasting and operating the Bakoel Koffie cafe in Cikini in the lovely row of architectural 1920s shops along Jalan Cikini Raya. This cafe is still a frequent and welcoming oasis for us at the end of historic researching and exhausting photo taking day activities in Jakarta. Bakoel also has an activity based cafe in Bintaro Sector 7.
On the right of this picture is NV Lim Tjoei Keng, a business in all kinds of car tools and accessories. A picture of Jalan Hayam Wuruk is never complete without the equally iconic washing ladies who still dominated this scene in the early 1950s and give this picture such a nostalgic Batavia/Djakarta atmosphere. Not only the washing ladies have disappeared long ago, but both buildings have been demolished too.
Very soon we will publish the book 250 YEARS IN OLD JAKARTA. It will tell the story of more than two centuries of Bik family in Jakarta, as well as the fascinating history of Tanah Abang, one of the oldest districts in Jakarta, dating back to 1628.
One entire chapter in the 336 page book will be dedicated to the Tanah Abang cemetery, now Taman Prasasti. It opened in 1797 and was fortunately saved from full destruction by the legendary Jakarta Governor Ali Sadikin. In 1976 Bang Ali decided to transform 1/5th of the original cemetery into a park with the most memorable monuments and tombstones. In this video, author Sven Verbeek Wolthuys tells about the history of some of the Bik tombstones still present in today’s Jakarta.
The video was kindly created by the team of Adventure Documentary Festival (ADF).
A unique and colourful photo taken just south of Pasar Glodok, looking south towards the start of the former Molenvliet canal.
At the front of the photo is where Jalan Hayam Wuruk (left) and Jalan Gajah Mada (right behind the trees) are coming together to mark the start of Jalan Pintu Besar Selatan. The roadworks at the front left are taking place at the turnoff to Jalan Blustru (formerly Gang Lindeteves), which leads to the Mangga Besar district, east of Glodok. On the corner is a small police post. The former Glodok jail is on the left but behind the photographer and was still present in 1954 as the Pendjara Glodok.
This picture strikingly shows the transition between colonial garden-city Batavia with its tree-lined orderly streets and modern Jakarta with its ongoing struggle to digest traffic and manage pollution. The streets are still marked by some majestic trees, but as we can see they are clearly suffering along the small streets that scream to be widened to allow for the growing traffic. Becaks and cars already mark a steady traffic flow on Jalan Hayam Wuruk. Nevertheless, the Anker Beer advertisement sign close to the start of the canal was still present at this location in the mid 1980s. This rare colour photo was taken by Everardus de Jong.
A lively and colourful scene along the east side of the former Molenvliet canal in a rare colour photo of 65 years ago. Prominent at the front the characteristic washing ladies who have featured on so many historic Molenvliet pictures and who indeed were still present in 1954, but sadly a scene of the past and simply unimaginable in today’s Jakarta, let alone along this polluted canal.
Kebon Jeruk mosque
At the back the Kebon Jeruk mosque which still exists along today’s Jalan Hayam Wuruk number 83 (see photo in comment box). The first mosque on this site was already built in 1786 by Chinese muslims, and there are still a few original 18th century elements present today. In the back yard there still is a tombstone dating back to 1792. The side street to the right is now called Jalan Mesjid Kebon Jeruk but in the 1950s still known as Gang Mesigit. On the corner a few warung stalls and a sign that points to Hotel Inder, further down the side street. The photo was taken by Everardus de Jong.
JL SABANG 1937 – What is now officially named as Jalan Haji Agus Salim on Jakarta maps is still known and often referred to as Jalan Sabang, the street name that was given in July 1950 to the street that beforehand was known as Laan Holle (Holle Lane).
The street ran southwards from the western side of Koningsplein Zuid (now Jalan Medan Merdeka Selatan) until the Oude Tamarindelaan (Jalan Wahid Hasyim).
Further south it became the Theresiakerkweg, but now called Jalan Haji Agus Salim all the way until the crossing with Jalan Imam Bonjol on the southern side of Menteng. The street was initially named after Karel Frederik Holle (1829-1896), a tea entrepreneur and publicist. Holle was fluent in Sundanese, knew the Koran by heart and studied old-Javanese scripts. He worked tirelessly for the welfare and prosperity of the Sundanese people through agricultural education, language access and historical research.
Holle also wrote study books for the Indonesian people. An obelisk with a bronze portrait of Holle was unveiled at the alun-alun in Garut in 1901 and is still present today.
The inscription says “Friend of the countryman”. There was a debate in Djakarta in 1950 as to whether his name needed to be removed from the street as Holle was well appreciated by the Indonesians and not associated as colonial. Although the street was renamed Jalan Sabang it was still for long known as Jalan Holle. Now the street is called Jalan Haji Agus Salim and known by many Jakartans as Jalan Sabang.
Holle’s tombstone is still present at Taman Prasasti. On this photo we are looking at the entrance of Laan Holle as seen from the intersection with Koningsplein Zuid (Jalan Medan Merdeka Selatan), looking south.
The houses on the left have the numbers 1, 3 and 5. On number 5 Coiffeur Maison Thierry, a well-known hairdresser at the time. In the distance a banner advertisement for an Olympiade documentary at Cinema Astoria. [source: NMVW]
