Pasar Peterongan Revisited:"Where an Old Tree Became a New Landmark"

This picture is captured during my last trip in Semarang City. I was shopping around the nearby shops, when I suddenly caught by surprised by the appearance of an old big tree that obviously found in the new front court yard of the market place. For many years, the existence of this old tree is hidden behind a block of building. After renovation is done, the tree is released from surrounding clutters. The new market place entrance is now situated behind the line where the old tree is originally placed. All of these arrangements create a relieving front court yard with proper size of space for visitors to have orientation before they come inside the market place.

The original appearance of market place shelters, is now also visually exposed after many years are covered and hidden behind many additional buildings. Old picture in associated with this area could be seen in my old blog post I have posted five years ago. This lost old tree is now have reborn again as prominent feature, as a green entrance landmark for an old remaining traditional market place in Semarang City, and maybe give a link to the sory of the past. Its wide spreading canopy not only shade the entrance yard during hot days, but it also become a nice meeting point for the market visitors.

Remaining Old House at Pandanaran Street (Part-2)

This is another house at Pandanaran with oldies appearance. Its appearance remind me of old colonial style building. It is not clear to me, the building is a real old building or just a new building that is built with oldies style. Even we can find another different building in another location in Semarang with almost similar detailed appearance. Behind lush trees covering on its front court yard, we can see glimpse of large open terrace with corinthian columns, high glass doors with wooden louvres and checkerboard pattern on dado wall.

Actually, the existence of this building is also hidden behind a very crowded and busy situation during daily activities. Nowadays, this house is actually surrounding by neighborhood building towers and also very busy retail stores across the street.

Most certainly, its large open court yard give this large house a setback that provide useful barrier against very busy street situation. This building setback arrangement is seemimgly useful to create a large shady court yard with lush green trees that makes this house is quietly secluded from daily crowded busy situation during hot days in Semarang City.

Remaining Old Houses at Pandanaran Street (part-1)

These two pictures are taken five years ago. Nowadays, building appearances are already changed. Actually, Pandanaran Street known as a fast growing commercial and business area in the middle of Semarang City. There are some new building are emerging and vice versa some another building are gone. At least this building is still found on its place, and known as one of some remaining old houses are found and well-preserved.

During my youth I recognized this building as a private university. And when I was visiting Semarang several years ago, I was also experiencing this building as a food retail, before it closed and changed to another function. I passed the street in front of this building last month, and I found it just as an un-occupied building.

Reservoir Kepoh at Jatingaleh Semarang

This is just a remaining old reservoir building, from totally three reservoir buildings could be currently found in Semarang City. In general this is just a similar building with burried domes and its ventilation copulas on top of it. And wall plaster signages on its entrance gate facade also mentioned similar text:"1912". And this indication of year is refer back to Dutch Colonial Era.

Another two reservoir building are known as Reservoir Jomblang and Reservoir Siranda. And this Reservoir known as Reservoir Kepoh, situated at Jatingaleh hill area.

The site is situated at approximately 740 meters north-east of Pasar Jatingaleh in a local military compound area. And if measure distance against the nearest reservoir, the distance is approximately 2 kilometers south-west of Reservoir Jomblang.

Nowadays, the building is brightly visible by the bright blue color on its front facade and its twin copulas onthe top of its twin domes. The appearance seems more visually prominent if it compared to the other oled remaining reservoir buildings.

Pasar Jatingaleh, an Old Marketplace at Semarang Upper Hill Area

These pictures of Pasar Jatingaleh are taken during the year of 2011. It was very difficult to take ideal angles, particularly when I was trying to capture the exeterior view of this old market building. Front exterior view is taken from crossing bridge landing that is currently gone and demolished because of the underpass road project currently on progress.

Even this picture only captured the typical flat roof of the building and its protruding octagonal skylight structure. Rest of the front facade are blocked with signages, existing big trees, vendor mobile kiosks, and so on. At the other side, most of building sides are covered with new masonry wall. We also could not even identify its original old building shape.

Actually, this marketplace building is situated in a prominent crossroads area, but not everybody can directly find this spot if we are not already familiar with this old market place before. Only when we are enetring the marketplace, we can feel a distinctive character of this building. Of coures that are the shape of the octagonal mushroom columns and the octagonal skylight structures. 

These details remind us with Pasar Johar building at Semarang, the famous old landmark from Dutch Colonial Era in the center of Semarang City. And this Pasar Jatingaleh building is known as mini version of the Pasa johar buidling. Many historian sources  have mentioned that this Pasar Jatingaleh building is also design by same Dutch Architect who designed Pasar Johar building.

This old market building is originally planned as and integrated part with new old upper hill area during Dutch Colonial area that is famously called as Candi Baru or "Nieuw Tjandi". And traditional market activities are still running until today in this building that is mainly involving residents who live in surrounding traditional compounds.

An Old Big House at Jatingaleh Crossroads

This is just quick snapshots to a big prominent old house at Jatingaleh crossroads that is situated directly in front of a local traditional market as known as Pasar Jatingaleh. It seem two-storey house (maybe within an attic underneath roof) with main balcony is directly facing to the crossroads point. The balcony orientation is in a diagonal line against main building axis.

The balcony appearance is become visual and spatial marks to identify the existence of building main entry that is directly situated underneath it.

Most part of building facade is facing to the main old road at the western side. And other remaining part is facing to the new highway road at northern side. The balcony and the entrance are situated in between these parts.

A protruding living room alcove is found at upper floor level and become main facade element that is directly facing inline with the main Teuku Umar road. Seemimgly, it similar detail we can also found at some big old house facade that is situated in the side of a main road.

Some pictures are taken from the steel crossing bridge that is connecting pedestrian in front of this house to Pasar Jatingaleh. But today, this bridge is already removed and dismantled as an impact in related with the developmet of new underpass road nearby.