Historical City Hall: Jakarta, West Java

Jakarta has always fascinated me with its stunning old Dutch architecture and the many buildings dating from the Dutch colonisation of Indonesia. One such building is City Hall located on Jl. Medan Merdeka Selatan in Central Jakarta.

There was an article in the Jakarta Post yesterday about this historical building and the one thing that I found fascinating was it has ghosts!. Then again what old building doesn’t have ghosts walking the hallways. Here’s the article:

City Hall, Cornerstone of History

It is hard to miss the elegant neoclassical building on Jl. Medan Merdeka Selatan in Central Jakarta, from where the capital is run.
It is from within the comfortable confines of City Hall that the Jakarta governor and his subordinates plan the development of this city of some 10 million people.

Stepping into the foyer, with its giant Tuscan columns, is like turning the clock back to the 16th century. The rooms, the furniture and the architecture are reminiscent of the days of Dutch colonialism.

In the first years after it was built in the 19th century, City Hall served as the mansion of the Burgemeester, the then-Batavia mayor.

From 1919 until the beginning of the Japanese occupation in 1942, it was also used as a center for city governance.

During the era of governor Ali Sadikin, from 1966 to 1977, the city administration expanded the area of the main building, besides constructing architecturally modern buildings around it. But the structure of City Hall itself has barely been altered over the years.

“We renovated some parts of the building, but still preserved its original structure,” Candrian Attahiyat of the Jakarta Culture and Museums Agency said.

The other buildings, for example the 25-floor building beside City Hall, were built as extensions at the end of the 20th century.
Candrian said the hall was last renovated in late 1980.

Upon entering City Hall and walking through the foyer, visitors will find seating areas available.

There is also a photo gallery, where pictures of former governors — from Suwirjo who led the city in 1945 to Governor Sutiyoso — hang.

Two doors away from the gallery is the Balai Agung or great hall, where important gatherings take place. Despite being more than two centuries old, the floors and fixtures of City Hall look as good as new. The city administration relies on an outside cleaning service to keep the building in immaculate condition.

“They clean the rooms, including the furniture, every day,” said Herman, who works in City Hall’s household division.

“Besides cleaning, we also carry out general maintenance work once a month, which includes servicing the air conditioners.”

City Hall is the oldest building in the area.

Long-time staff members have many a tale of its “invisible occupants“.

Tunjung, who has been working at City Hall for more than 10 years, said he could recall more than one such encounter.

“Once I took a picture of a friend in the main room. I didn’t see anything at the time, but when I got the film developed, a blurry white form appeared.”

“On a number of occasions I saw a Dutch woman walking in the photo room.”

He said other people had also heard things.

“A guard told me he once heard the bell in front of the governor’s meeting room ringing at night.

“But we are used to that kind of thing. They (the ghosts) don’t bother us.”