{"id":11744,"date":"2017-07-25T17:43:22","date_gmt":"2017-07-25T09:43:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stuif.com\/blog\/?p=11744"},"modified":"2017-07-25T19:43:01","modified_gmt":"2017-07-25T11:43:01","slug":"kl-heritage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stuif.com\/blog\/?p=11744","title":{"rendered":"KL Heritage"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kuala Lumpur, now a bustling metropolis, had a very modest start around the middle of\u00a0the 19th century. It began as a small hamlet at the confluence of the Gombak and Klang rivers. In\u00a0nearby Ampang rich tin mines were opened\u00a0and Kuala Lumpur was the place from where the tin could be transported by boat to Klang.<\/p>\n

Here is how Kuala Lumpur looked in 1884. The open\u00a0field at the left (the padang) is what today is Dataran Merdeka !<\/p>\n

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The wooden houses with atap roofs were prone to fire, and several times the whole village was razed. Kuala Lumpur\u00a0also got heavily involved in the Selangor Civil\u00a0War<\/a> (1867-1874).\u00a0\u00a0After this war Selangor became a British protectorate and in 1880 Kuala Lumpur replaced Klang as\u00a0the capital of Selangor.<\/p>\n

In 1884 Frank Swettenham, at that time the British Resident of Selangor, decided that future buildings should be constructed of\u00a0brick and tile, to reduce the risk of fire. Yap Ah Loy, \u00a0Capitan Cina of Kuala Lumpur, started a brick industry in what now is called Brickfields. He can be considered the founder of modern Kuala Lumpur.<\/p>\n

When in 1895 the British government decided to establish the Federated Malay States (FMS), a federation of Selangor, Perak, Negeri Sembilan and Pahang, Kuala Lumpur became the capital in 1896.<\/p>\n

Here is a map of Kuala Lumpur, as it was in 1895. Worthwhile to study it in detail!<\/p>\n

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Regular visitors of my blog know my interest in history and heritage\u00a0(Taiping, Klang) and may have been wondering why I never posted about\u00a0Kuala Lumpur. Well, here is the result of two heritage walks in Kuala Lumpur.<\/p>\n

We will start at the padang (Dataran Merdeka) where many of the heritage buildings are located. Here is a fascinating aerial view of colonial KL, taken circa 1930. What a beautiful town KL was in those days, without all the modern high-rise buildings! I have numbered the heritage buildings.<\/p>\n

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\nSelangor Club (1)<\/span><\/p>\n

The Selangor Club was founded in 1884\u00a0as a meeting point for educated and high-ranking members of British colonial society. It started as a small wooden building with an atap roof,\u00a0near the north eastern corner of the padang. In 1890 it was replaced by a two-storey structure, \u00a0designed by\u00a0A.C.A. Norman<\/a>\u00a0in Mock Tudor style<\/a>\u00a0. Later, in 1910, it was enlarged by\u00a0Arthur Benison Hubback<\/a><\/p>\n

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\nGovernment Printing Office (2)<\/span><\/p>\n

Built in 1899, designed by Norman in Moorish Revival (Neo-Mughal)<\/a>\u00a0style. In the 1895 city map an earlier building was\u00a0still located west of the padang, where nowadays the Police HQ can be found. The building has been used for various purposes, at present the KL City Gallery <\/a>has its premises there. There is a gallery about the history of Kuala Lumpur, a souvenir shop, a cafe and on the first floor a scale model of KL. Quite touristic, but worth a visit.<\/p>\n

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