An atmospheric picture of a cosy and bustling shopping street at night in a Jakarta that soon would be invaded by the Japanese. The photographer stands halfway Pasar Baru, looking in a southerly direction. On the right at number 69 the famous restaurant, patisserie and ice-cream palace “Luilekkerland” (The Land of Cockaigne). Next door at numbers 65-67 the well-known department store “De Bijenkorf”. The Anker Beer sign is in front of restaurant “De Snoeper” at number 63.
Photographer
On the left we see the photography store “Tan’s Studio” with behind it Toko Bombay. It could well be that the photographer worked at Tan’s Studio. It must have been an attractive scene, or object where the photographer stood on, as most people on the photo are looking into the camera lens.
The northern side of Jalan Teuku Umar (Boulevard Gondangdia) in 1920
Water spraying at the northern end of what was called Boulevard Gondangdia 100 years ago. We recognise the majestic premises of the building company N.V. De Bouwploeg (now the Cut Meutia mosque) which was in transition at the time. In 1920 the Batavia City Council took over all possessions of De Bouwploeg and the company went into liquidation. Although we see the name of N.V. De Bouwploeg still present on all sides of the dome, the other sign halfway the side building says “Traktie en Materieel Staatsspoorwegen” (Traction and Materials State Railways) which occupied part of the building.
Road spraying
The roads in Batavia/Jakarta would only be asphalted as from 1922 hence the unsealed road had to be sprayed regularly during the dry season to avoid it becoming dusty and loose. This was in the 19th and early 20th centuries still a manual job conducted by men with two watering cans but by 1920 specific motorised vehicles were used to carry out this job.
Road name changes
The road name would change into Van Heutszboulevard in 1924, the year that the former Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies (1904-1909) passed away. In July 1950 it was changed into its current name Jalan Teuku Umar. In front of the Bouwploeg building we see the boom gates of the train line between the stations Gondangdia and Tjikini/Cikini. If standing on the same spot today one would not see that many changes, apart from the fact that the train line was elevated in 1992 to avoid traffic congestion and now runs 10 metres above ground level and partly blocks the view of the former Bouwploeg office. If the photographer would turn around he would see the Kunstkring building which was opened in 1914 and still exists today too.
The sign on the north side of the Cut Meutia mosque building in 2020
Since the completion of De Bouwploeg building in November 1913 at Entree Gondangdia (now Taman Cut Meutia) the company did not occupy the offices at all. Instead, it used a newly built villa at Boulevard Gondangdia 9 (Jalan Teuku Umar 9) as their main office. The first cracks in the company appeared in 1914. Newspaper Bataviaasch Nieuwsblad published on 29 April 1914 that De Bouwploeg discontinued its activities. The newspaper article also mentioned that the company’s forge, lime kilns and carpenter’s shop would be rented out. Three days later, another newspaper in Batavia/Jakarta pointed out that the end of De Bouwploeg was not difficult to predict. “Again an Indies business established by people incapable of carrying out this task, who suffered from a borderless overconfidence. Courage resulted in recklessness”. However two days later Director Elenbaas explicitly denied the shutdown of De Bouwploeg, and the company indeed continued and also kept publishing advertisements in the newspapers.
Pandhuisdienst
In August 1914 Elenbaas resigned, and he was succeeded by Mr. W.A. van Cuijk. The Bouwploeg building itself was since that month rented out to the Pandhuisdienst. De Bouwploeg still advertised in the newspapers until 1916; afterwards its activities slowly decreased. The company was officially liquidated on 10 September 1920 after the Batavia City Council had decided to purchase all the possessions of De Bouwploeg for 2 million guilders. More than a century later we can still see the contours of the name “NV De Bouwploeg” on the north side of today’s Cut Meutia mosque if the sun shines on the plastered banner. We have increased the contrast of the picture to show it a bit better.
When researching the development of architect P.A.J. Moojen’s houses in Kramat, there are unfortunately many gaps. Especially as over the years very few photos were taken. There is a decent series of pictures from 1912, taken just after the completion of the houses on Kramatlaan (Jalan Kramat V) and Laan Wiechert (Jalan Kramat VII). Since then, not a single history book on Batavia and Jakarta published about these architecturally interesting monuments. Hence we are dependent on current and previous residents, their cameras and their well kept archives. Fortunately there are some photos of the house on Kramatlaan (Jalan Kramat V) number 14. This was the first Moojen house on the right side of this street when approaching from the main Kramat road (now Jalan Kramat Raya).
Maria Dermout
One of the first residents were the Van Velthoven family in the 1910s. In 1933 this house was owned by the famous Dutch novelist Maria Dermout (1888-1962) and her family. We see her standing in the middle of the top right photo. Between 1942 and 1945 it was part of the Japanese internment camp Kramat and a few dozen families lived in this house under poor circumstances. During this time many original fittings, especially timber and glass, were removed.
SOBSI
In the late 1950s house number 14 was the office of SOBSI (Sentral Organisasi Buruh Seluruh Indonesia), the largest trade union federation in Indonesia at the time. In the decades after the house has been severely altered, and today there is not much that reminds of the original Moojen design. We are grateful that the granddaughter of Maria Dermout shared the 1933 photo with us. Also a big thank you to Pak Larry Jacob for providing us with the 1950s photo, which was taken from the first floor of the opposite house on number 1, which has been in his family since 1948.
Tanah Abang Bukit in 1900 (left) and in the 1970s (right)
Since the publication of our book 250 YEARS IN OLD JAKARTA we have been approached by many people from all over the world who, after reading the book, wanted to share their experiences and their childhood stories in Tanah Abang. Some only have vague memories, others know all facts and have photos to prove too. @Zaky Awab from Jakarta kindly shared with us a photo of his late father Awab Al Kuddeh (1934-1984) who is praying with many others as part of Idul Fitri in front of one of the 18th century two-storey houses on Tanah Abang Bukit (formerly Tanah Abang Heuvel). Pak Awab was married to the daughter of Tanah Abang Kebon Dalam resident and landowner Ali Al Djawas.
Van Imhoff
Behind him we see the western wing of the former estate that was built by Governor General Van Imhoff in the 1740s. It was subsequently in possession of the Van Riemsdijk family (late 18th and early 19th century) and the Bik family (mid 19th century to first half 20th century). From 1954 these houses were part of the headquarters of Indonesia’s Air Force (AURI) and from 1969 till 1978 the Air Force Museum (Museum AURI). This photo dates from the 1970s but it is not exactly known from what year.
German consulate
The historic photo shows the same house from nearly the same angle in the year 1900 and was taken by the German biologist K. Giesenhagen who was the guest of German consul Von Syburg, who lived in this house from 1899 till 1903. The two houses were demolished shortly after 1983 and the site is now occupied by concrete ‘ruko’ (rumah toko) blocks of Pasar Tanah Abang Blok E.
