The National History Museum is housed in the first bank to open a branch in Kuala Lumpur. The Chartered Bank of India, Australia and China opened its doors in Kuala Lumpur in 1888 and in 1891, the bank moved to its new premises on this site. The site was chosen for security considerations: it is close to the police headquarters on Bluff Road (now Jalan Bukit Aman). The original building had to be replaced but the present three-storey structure in 1909, as it proved inadequate.
National History Museum, Kuala Lumpur.
I photograph the museum as part of a walking tour I did to document the various heritage buildings around Dataran Merdeka for AsiaExplorers. The National History Museum was designed to blend in with the other Mughal style (also written Mogul, but often incorrectly referred as Moorish) buildings in the surrounding area. Initially, there was a single-storey wing to the building which extended onto Jalan Raja. This had to be demolished when Jalan Raja was widened. In its place, arches were placed there to embellish the blank wall. There were also verandahs that are today enclosed with windows. The corner domes where constructed of belian, a hardwood from East Malaysia.
The great flood of 1926 caused the bank's vaults to be inundated. Business continued as usual upstairs in the living quarters, while staff had to be ferried by sampan. Millions of dolloars of watersoaked bank notes were laid out on the Padang in front to dry and guarded by the police.
The museum building was renovated in 1996 and turned into the National History Museum to showcase Malaysia's historic development, from Lembah Bujang artefacts to Malacca, the Japanese occupation and more.
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