Old colonial houses, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, January 2018

[HughieD]

1. The History
This row of eight old colonial houses face the busy Jalan Raja Chulan (formerly known as Weld Road) in the Bukit Nanas area of KL. Built in 1930, it was originally called the Serani Row. An elaborate crest on the wall bears the initials OES and the date of completion recorded as 1931.

They have seen better days as the houses now vary in states of repair, from completely derelict on the left-hand side to moderately good nick on the right-hand-side. The six in-between houses vary from abandoned to just-about-habitable. In their day they probably represented the very best and elite accommodation in the city and formerly home to a Eurasian community.

2. The Visit
Things move fast in KL. My intended revisit round the corner was scuppered as the bulldozers had obliterated this lovely corner of KL. When I came round the corner I saw they had erected the same high blue corrugated wall around these lovely buildings. But they were still there plus you could just go round the wall. So off I tootled.

3. The Pictures

img5014 by HughieDW, on Flickr

That famous bit of graff:

img5013 by HughieDW, on Flickr

img5012 by HughieDW, on Flickr

…and some other graph:

img5011 by HughieDW, on Flickr

img5010 by HughieDW, on Flickr

The first house is just a shell:

img4986 by HughieDW, on Flickr

img4985 by HughieDW, on Flickr

This place is in the second worst nick:

img5005 by HughieDW, on Flickr

img4993 by HughieDW, on Flickr

Inside the second-worst conditioned house:

img5007 by HughieDW, on Flickr

img5006 by HughieDW, on Flickr

The gate for next door:

img4995 by HughieDW, on Flickr

img5003 by HughieDW, on Flickr

This place is in better nick:

img5004 by HughieDW, on Flickr

2018-01-12_07-33-56 by HughieDW, on Flickr

Rubbish, including human excrement abounds:

img4999 by HughieDW, on Flickr

The tiles that can be found on the front of all houses are a joy:

img4992 by HughieDW, on Flickr

Looking along the row:

img5002 by HughieDW, on Flickr

img5000bw by HughieDW, on Flickr

And the OES crest, which, despite much research, still remains a mystery:

img4989 by HughieDW, on Flickr

img4988 by HughieDW, on Flickr

 

[Sam Haltin]

Ah, so they have not been bulldozed, maybe they are being kept. Nice titles or did you mean nice tiles, which is what I agree. I think I've discussed the crest OES in a previous post and the only information I can find is the Order of the Eastern Star (a branch of Freemasons). But obviously it is not but I drew a blank, all I can think of is the house was built in 1931 and the family's surname had the initials OES.

 

[HughieD]

Ah, so they have not been bulldozed, maybe they are being kept. Nice titles or did you mean nice tiles, which is what I agree. I think I've discussed the crest OES in a previous post and the only information I can find is the Order of the Eastern Star (a branch of Freemasons). But obviously it is not but I drew a blank, all I can think of is the house was built in 1931 and the family's surname had the initials OES.

Oops! Yes. My bad as the kids say. Tiles it was meant to be. And yes Hugh. I remember back now and in the absence of any other info I think you may be right. Let's hope they do get saved. Think there are some issues as to who the owners of some of the houses are but let's hope they can get round this. KL does not have a good record with saving its architectural heritage though I'm afraid. Land like this is worth so much more developed.

 

[smiler]

There are some nice features remaining and it would be a loss if it is destroyed, however folks need house's so understanable if they demolish and rebuild, another good report Hughie, Thanks

 

[HughieD]

There are some nice features remaining and it would be a loss if it is destroyed, however folks need house's so understanable if they demolish and rebuild, another good report Hughie, Thanks

Cheers Smiler. Hope they do get saved. I'll give you an up-date in a years time!