Bank Tabungan Negara (former Postspaarbank) at Jalan Gajah Mada 1980
Cars making a U-turn at the Harmoni intersection in front of the Bank Tabungan Negara 40 years ago. At that time the building was still in exactly its original state, before the newly built high rise headquarters were built behind this building in the 1990s and two parts of the front facade on the ground floor were removed to allow cars to enter and exit the grounds through the old building. These days there are basically two big gaps in front of the historic bulding.
Tjokin Kjokoe
It was since 1927 owned by the Postspaarbank (Postal Savings Bank) who modernised it in 1930. During World War II (1942-1945) the bank was named Tjokin Kjokoe. Between 1945 and 1947 it had two entrances: to the left “Bank Tabungan Pos” for Indonesian languaged bank account holders, to the right “Postspaarbank” for bank account holders with a Dutch background. In 1950 it was officially renamed as Bank Tabungan Pos, until it obtained its current name in 1963. Since 2017 the name “Postspaarbank” has returned on top of the red roof of the building again.
Henk van Rinsum
The photographer in 1980 was Henk van Rinsum. He stood in front of the former Hotel des Galeries on the corner of Jalan Hayam Wuruk and Jalan Juanda. Outside this photo to the left, one would be able to admire former society De Harmonie, which entered its last 5 years of its existence; the building was sadly demolished in 1985.
A rare aerial view of the plain in front of society De Harmonie, taken by a KNILM airplane in 1935. De Harmonie itself is not visible, but a few other historic Jakarta icons of the past are. On the top and top right the complex and main building of Hotel des Indes, which was demolished in 1971. Under and behind the trees left of the main hotel building lies the 19th century dependance of the hotel, which had been in use as a reception pavilion. At the back we see various guest buildings and other pavilions. On the front right Hotel des Galeries where we notice deck chairs on the first floor’s terrace. This building does still partly exist today but has sadly been unrecognisably altered.
Postspaarbank – Bank Tabungan Negara
On the left the head office of the Postspaarbank (now Bank Tabungan Negara), which does still exist today and even has the name ‘Postspaarbank’, initially removed during the early 1950s, back on top of the building since 2018. Besides some tram carriages and the odd car, it is very quiet at this important intersection of the city, probably -as we can conclude from the tree shades- as this picture has been taken in the early hours of the morning.
Archives destroyed
The archives of the KNILM comprised of thousands of unique aerial photos from all over the archipelago, taken from 1924 onwards. They were stored at the premises of the Topographische Dienst but sadly all destroyed by the Japanese during World War II. The only KNILM photos that exist today are the ones which were sent to archives and museums in the Netherlands before 1940, and ones like these who were published in books. This photo appears in the book Gordel van Smaragd by Dirk de Vries.
