More Buildings - Dataran Area

We're still in the Dataran area. There are a few more buildings that I want to show.

This corner building was our General Post Office before they moved to the Dayabumi building nearby.

Federal House. Used to be the home of Radio Malaysia. That is before they moved to Angkasapuri.

The building currently houses the KL Land & Mines Department and the Anti-Corruption Agency.

Street decoration along Jalan Sultan Hishamuddin, in front of the Federal House.

The Straits Trading Building, a landmark in its own right.

I thought that the building belonged to the Straits Trading Company Ltd, a company registered in Singapore in 1887. However, the building is not mentioned in it's official website or the website of it's subsidiary Malaysia Smelting Corporation Bhd.

According to Wikipedia, Loke Yew owned shares in the Raub Straits Trading Company, but it too does not mention this building.

It is to be noted that the adjoining building is the Loke Yew Building.

The wall is all that is left of the original building when the Bank Pertainan (Agricultural Bank) building was constructed.

The Bank Pertanian Malaysia (now Agrobank) building.

The Dayabumi building seen in the background.

Masjid Jamek Bandaraya seen from behind the Bangunan Sultan Abdul Samad.

The Industrial Court building.

Our Industrial Court is not a law court, its a court of arbitration.

Rear view of the Bangunan Sultan Abdul Samad.

The clock tower from the rear.

The bridge across the Sungai Gombak.

These buildings once housed the Magistrates' Courts, but they appear to be vacant now.

Another view of the vacant building.

Entrance to the KL City Theater (Panggung Bandaraya).

The theater is a heritage building.

Still at the Dataran Area

We're still at the Dataran area viewing some of the buildings surrounding the padang.

Of course, we'll start with the National Flag flying high on what was to have been the tallest flag-pole, but relegated to being just one "among the tallest" in the world.

However big, huge or tall any structure is, it must be firmly rooted to the ground. The flag-pole is no exception.

One of the buildings behind the padang is the KL Children's Library.

During my student days, this was the KL Book Club, a public library which was popular with students in those days. Studies were not the only things on our minds then ;-)

The new KL Library next to the Children's Library.

Next we have the Kuala Lumpur Memorial Library.

Three libraries side by side of each other, and Malaysia is not a 'reading' nation.

This building at the corner of Jalan Raja and Jalan Sultan Hishamuddin is being renovated.

Prior to the renovation works it used to be our National History Museum. Previously it used to house a branch office of the Standard Chartered Bank.

A view of the KL skyline seen from the base of the flag-pole.

Another view.
Yet another view.

"Selangor Padang"

If you look across the field from St Mary's Cathedral, you can't but help but notice the 'Jalur Gemilang' (Stripes of Valor) flying majestically from the tallest flag pole in the country.

We used to refer to this field as the Selangor Padang. In those days, it was normal to find guys in white uniforms playing cricket on the field.

The name is not surprising as the field is sandwiched between the Selangor Club on one side (above) and the Selangor State Secretariat Building on the other (below).

A bit of additional information - The Hash House Harriers was founded here at the Selangor Club. Wikipedia has this to say about the history of the HHH:

Hashing began in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 1938, when a casual group of Biritish colonial officers and expatriates began meeting on Monday evenings to run, in a fashion patterned after the traditional British Paper Chase (game), to rid themselves of the excesses of the previous weekend. This original group consisted of four members: Cecil Lee, Frederick "Horse" Thomson, Ronald "Torch" Bennett, and Albert Stephen (A.S.) Ignacious "G" Gispert. John Woodrow was also an original member of the group, but is rarely credited as a founder, having left Malaysia soon after the war and returning to Scotland.

After meeting for some months, they were informed by the Registrar of Societies that as a "group," they would require a Constitution and an official name. A S Gispert suggested the name "Hash House Harriers" in homage to the Selangor Club Annex, where the men were billeted, so named the "Hash House" for its notoriously monotonous food. The final word, "Harriers," refers to the role of those in the chase, where the "hare" was given a head start to blaze a trail and mark his path with shreds of paper, and then pursued by a shouting pack of "harriers." Apart from the excitement of chasing the hare and finding the "true" path, harriers reaching the end of the trail would be rewarded with beer, ginger beer, and cigarettes.

The Sultan Abdul Samad Building, designed by A C Norman and built in 1894-1897.

This building was the home of the British Administration. Later the Selangor State Secretariat was here. Under the Mahathir administration, these buildings housed Malaysia's highest courts (Supreme Court, Federal Court and the Court of Appeal) befor they moved to their new premises in Putrajaya. Recently, the buildings have been renovated to house the Ministry of Unity, Culture, Arts and Heritage (if I'm not mistaken about the ministry's official title).

The shady areas around the padang is popular with both locals and visitors alike as a welcome respite from the blazing hot afternoon sun.

Tourists come by the bus loads to the site where the Union Jack was lowered all that many years ago on August 31, 1957.

You can guess that it's a weekend by the lack of traffic on the road.

The plack to inform visitors to Dataran Merdeka at the far corner of the padang.

The old fountain built in 1897 also at the far corner of the padang.

St Mary's Church

After the Rotary Commemoration Monument we cross the Gombak River to get to the Dataran Padang.

The bridge is part of the beautification of the whole area.

With February 1 just round the corner, the bridge is decorated with buntings commemorating City Day.

There are some trees planted alongside the river.

The trees I remember were the majestic Rain Trees (I don't know if that is the real name, but we used to call them that) that lined most of the roads of KL. Almost all of them were felled in the name of progress.

The first building is the St Mary's Cathedral.

The building was designed by A C Norman, the government architect at that time, in what is called the early-English gothic style.

The sign at the entrance to the church.

Another view of the church.

The Anglican Communion is an international association of national Anglican churches. There is no single "Anglican Church" with universal juridical authority as each national or regional church has full autonomy. As the name suggests, the Anglican Communion is an association of these churches in full communion with the Church of England (which may be regarded as the mother church of the worldwide communion) and specifically with its principal primate, the Archbishop of Canterbury. The status of full communion means that there is mutual agreement on essential doctrines, and that full participation in the sacramental life of each national church is available to all communicant Anglicans.

With approximately 77 million members, the Anglican Communion is the third largest communion in the world, after the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Churches. Some of these churches are known as Anglican, explicitly recognising the historical link to England (Ecclesia Anglicana means "Church of England"); others, such as the American and Scottish Episcopal churches, or the Church of Ireland, prefer a separate name. Each church has its own doctrine and liturgy, based in most cases on that of the Church of England; and each church has its own legislative process and overall episcopal polity, under the leadership of a local primate.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, religious head of the Church of England, has no formal authority outside that jurisdiction, but is recognised as symbolic head of the worldwide communion. Among the other primates he is primua inter pares, or "first among equals".

~ extract from Wikipedia

Towards the Dataran Area

Sorry folks; I was down with a viral fever and out of action for more than 2 weeks. I'm still recuperating and may not be able have my walks as frequently as I'd wish, at least for a while yet. I do however still have some photos from my earlier walks which I want to share.

At the end of Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman and Jalan Raja Laut, facing Jalan Parlimen is a man-made cascading waterfall, one of the many undertakings by DBKL (Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur or KL City Hall) to beautify KL.

A DBKL worker is seen resting in the shade on this hot afternoon.

As usual I like to start with a little sketch of the Dataran Merdeka (Independence Square) area.

The meeting of the 2 rivers the Gombak and Klang (site of the Masjid Jame' Bandaraya) is what gives KL it's name - Kuala Lumpur literally translates as muddy river estuary.

One of the first sculptures you'll notice when you cross Jalan Parlimen from the DBKL building is this Pitcher Plant water fountain.

I'm not sure of the significance of this sculpture, maybe there is no significance, it's there just to add to the overall beauty of the place. Maybe.
Next to the 'Pitcher Plants' is another circular fountain.

Across the road from the fountains, along Jalan Raja is the City Theater (Panggung Bandaraya), one of City Hall's contribution towards promoting the performing arts in KL.

We'll talk about the architecture of the building when we view the Sultan Abdul Samad Building in a later post.

I've passed this structure many times on my way to the Dataran Merdeka but never once stopped to find out what it was, until today that is.

It's a commemoration of Rotary's presence in Malaysia since 1929.

Even a time capsule has been buried here by the then KL Mayor, Y. Bhg. Tan Sri Dato' Kamaruzzaman bin Shariff on June 26, 2000.

There's a nice little shady area just behind the Rotary Commemoration Monument.

Maybe someone should warn the couple there to watch out for DBKL's "Snoop Squad". Don't want them to get into any trouble with these 'holier than thou' (they wish!) guys.