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Menteng is the south-central
district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municipa ...
of Central Jakarta, one of the administrative municipalities in the capital city Jakarta,
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
. The nexus of its heritage is the Menteng neighbourhood (Project), a new urban design developed mainly in the 1910s as a residential area for Indo-Dutch people, the upper middle class, and high officials. At that time it was the first
garden suburb The garden city movement was a 20th century urban planning movement promoting satellite communities surrounding the central city and separated with greenbelts. These Garden Cities would contain proportionate areas of residences, industry, and ...
in
colonial Colonial or The Colonial may refer to: * Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology) Architecture * American colonial architecture * French Colonial * Spanish Colonial architecture Automobiles * Colonial (1920 au ...
Batavia. Today, the area is considered as one of the most expensive neighborhoods due to its close proximity to the Golden Triangle an agglomeration of Jakarta's three main financial districts. Among former residents are William Soeryadjaya, former presidents Suharto,
Megawati Soekarnoputri Diah Permata Megawati Setiawati Sukarnoputri (; born 23 January 1947) is an Indonesian politician who served as the fifth president of Indonesia from 2001 to 2004. She previously served as the eighth vice president from 1999 to 2001. Megawati i ...
and former US president
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...
during some of his childhood where he attended the Besuki Public and Saint Francis of Assisi Schools. The district is south of Merdeka Square. It is roughly bounded by Kebon Sirih Road to the north, a canal to the west, the canal ''Kali Malang'' to the south, and the Ciliwung river to the east. Passenger railways host Gondangdia, Sudirman, Cikini, and Mampang Stations here, or on the limits of Menteng. Mohammad Husni Thamrin Road, a transportation artery, is in the west of the district.


Government

The district of Menteng is divided into five '' kelurahan'' or urban villages:


Menteng residential area

The Menteng residential area is located in the Menteng district. The residential area spreads over the administrative villages of Menteng and Gondangdia. Menteng residential area was the first modern housing estate in Jakarta. It was developed by the private real estate company N.V. de Bouwploeg, established by P.A.J. Moojen who had been active in Batavia since 1930. The plan of Menteng residential area was designed by Moojen and F.J. Kubatz during the course of the 1910s. Moojen was also a member of a development group established by Batavia city government, the ''Commisie van toesicht op het Geheer van het Land Menteng'', which was responsible for planning and developing the larger area of Gondangdia (''Nieuw Gondangdia'') of which Menteng was the centerpiece. The Menteng Project was the most ambitious residential planning project between 1910 and 1939. The project was meant to be the southern expansion of the city Batavia. Karsten, in his 1939 memorandum to the colonial government, referring to Menteng Project and several other residential projects in the Indies - pointed out that real estate offices and the building trade have turned their attention to the needs of the upper middle class - particularly those of the Europeans, but moreover those of the small category categories of the other population groups in that class (i.e. natives and foreign orientals, mostly Chinese).


History


Before Menteng

The land that is now Menteng's residential area was originally privately owned estates located at Menteng and Gondangdia. Between 1755 and 1762, the Menteng estate belonged to a Moor Assan Nina Daut. In 1790, the land was handed over to Pieter J. du Chene de Vienne. In 1815, the land was handed over to Jakob P. Barends. In 1867, the land was handed over to an Arab man from
Hadramaut Hadhramaut ( ar, حَضْرَمَوْتُ \ حَضْرَمُوتُ, Ḥaḍramawt / Ḥaḍramūt; Hadramautic: 𐩢𐩳𐩧𐩣𐩩, ''Ḥḍrmt'') is a region in South Arabia, comprising eastern Yemen, parts of western Oman and southern Saud ...
, one of the recorded descendants was the Shahap/Shahab family who were the landlords of the private land in what is now Menteng from 1881 to 1990, as recorded in the 1817 ''Regerings-Almanak''. In 1890, this private land was an estate of 73 hectares inhabited by 3,562 peasants, situated south of Kebon Sirih neighborhood (south of Koningsplein). In 1901 the land recorded was being used for
rice paddies A paddy field is a flooded field of arable land used for growing semiaquatic crops, most notably rice and taro. It originates from the Neolithic rice-farming cultures of the Yangtze River basin in southern China, associated with pre-Au ...
, fields and coconut plantation. When the city of Batavia was confident to absorb new supply of middle-class housing – as well as to prevent further illegal
kampung A kampong (''kampung'' in Malay and Indonesian) is the term for a village in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore and a "port" in Cambodia. The term applies to traditional villages, especially of the indigenous people, and has also been used ...
development from encroaching onto this area – the city decided to purchase the Menteng land and created the technical commission to oversee its development. De Bouwploeg was established to acquire a plot of land in Menteng and another 73 hectares of land from the Gondangdia private estate. The land in the Gondangdia private estate was bought by Bouw- en Cultuur Maatschappij Gondangdia from a Dutch widow J.V.D. Bergh in 1892, which at that time was inhabited by 3,052 peasants.


Development of Menteng

Moojen's original plan for Menteng resembles the garden city model of
Ebenezer Howard Sir Ebenezer Howard (29 January 1850 – 1 May 1928) was an English urban planner and founder of the garden city movement, known for his publication ''To-Morrow: A Peaceful Path to Real Reform'' (1898), the description of a utopian city in whic ...
. The plan combined wide cross-cutting boulevards with concentric rings of streets and a central public square. At the northern entrance to the Menteng residential area, he designed civic landmarks: the
Art Center An art centre or arts center is distinct from an art gallery or art museum. An arts centre is a functional community centre with a specific remit to encourage arts practice and to provide facilities such as theatre space, gallery space, venues for ...
, the cultural center of early 20th-century Batavia. Although planning for Menteng began in 1910, it was not until 1912 that Moojen's revised plan was officially unveiled. Key difference with the original garden city model was that Menteng was not intended to be a freestanding, self-contained place, but to link up with adjacent residential areas. For example, the broad Nassau Boulevard (now Jalan Imam Bonjol) that bisected the Menteng residential area adjacent to the central square (now Taman Suropati) was intended to connect
Tanah Abang Tanah Abang is a district of Central Jakarta, Indonesia. The district hosts the biggest textile market in Southeast Asia, Tanah Abang Market. It hosts Bung Karno Stadium, in Kelurahan Gelora, and the western half of the largely skyscraper-dom ...
(an important market place) to the west and
Meester Cornelis Jatinegara (originally known as Meester Cornelis or Meester for short) is one of the districts (''Kecamatan'') of East Jakarta, Indonesia. The name also refers to the larger, historic area of the colonial town of Meester Cornelis. Established in ...
to the east. The Java Street (''Javaweg'', now Jalan HOS Cokroaminoto) was to serve as a north–south connector from Kebon Sirih to the southern fringe of Batavia, the boundary was marked at that time by the line of a flood canal. Moojen's plan was later extensively modified by F.J. Kubatz as part of the city's next development plan. In the Kubatz plan, the street pattern was changed and a small pond (Situ Lembang) was added to the east of the central park area, originally named ''Bisschooplein'' after G.J. Bishop, mayor of Batavia (1916-1920). Other architects contributed to the character of Menteng Residential Area through landmarks. Architect Ghijsels designed Indies-styled houses, St. Paul's Church and the adjacent Logegebouw, which was the office of the ''burgemester'', centrally positioned and facing the central park (now the Indonesian national development planning board (BAPPENAS)). Ghijsels's colleagues in the AIA, architect J.F.L. Blankenberg, designed some lavish residences in Menteng between 1926 and 1939 (after Ghijsels had returned to the Netherlands) e.g. the home of the owner of Wellenstein & Krausse Company (1926, now the residence of the US Ambassador to Indonesia), home of the Governor of Jakarta (1939), and several lavish residences for local businessmen along Jalan Imam Bonjol (one of which is now the National Proclamation Museum). During the 1932-1937 Great Depression, development of Menteng slowed down. During the period, houses in Menteng were built in two levels, partly to expand the building area without having to increase land plot. These two-floors buildings were partly inspired by similar houses designed by Moojen in Kramat V-VII in 1919. These houses in Menteng were located in van Heutszboulevard (Jalan Teuku Umar), van Breen weg (Jalan Latuharhari), Nassau Boulevard (Jalan Imam Bonjol) and Oranje Boulevard (Jalan Diponegoro). After the crisis, development was enacted again, such as the construction of St. Paul's Church. The Menteng Project provided commissions for growing architect and planning firms that had set up in Batavia, which included M.J. Hulswit, the very prominent A.A. Fermont and Eduard Cuypers, Biezeveld and Moojen, Bakker and Meyboom, AIA. Other firms active in Menteng Project were Semarang-based Karsten, Lutjens, Toussaint, and Henri Maclaine Pont; and Bandung-based C.P. Schoemaker and Associates.


Post-colonial period

In the post-colonial period, the prestige of Menteng was transferred to the indigenous urban elite of Jakarta. Escalating land values in the center of Jakarta exerted pressures on the edges of Menteng to convert to more intensive non-residential uses in later years. A 1975 gubernatorial decree declared Menteng a cultural heritage area, citing its distinctive architecture, which often includes high, slanting roofs and ample gardens. During the 1980s, the west part of Menteng was transformed into a commercial area, such as Sabang Street (now Agus Salim street), Jaksa Street, Teuku Cik Di Tiro Street, and Menteng Raya Street. Most of them changed into shops, hotels, offices, and restaurants. The Jalan Jaksa Festival is held every year in Jaksa Street. Since the 1990s, a community of architects, historians, preservationists, and re-greening advocates tried to the preserve the quality of the Menteng original plan. Presently, conservation of Menteng residential area has shown many problems. Despite being a cultural heritage area, many houses were renovated into a Neoclassical style by newcomers, a style which has no relation with Menteng residential area's characteristic early 20th-century modern architecture. Authorities may stop the construction of a building which violate the Menteng style, but some projects resume until the houses are finished. Other problem related to the conservation of Menteng residential area are banning of businesses in the area despite the rising land taxes, fraud by architects of the newly renovated buildings, and the general lack of knowledge in conservation.


Urban design and planning

The Menteng project was the first housing project in Jakarta that followed the first law of urban planning in Batavia, known as ''Bataviasche Bouwverordening''. Menteng was influential in the introduction of a new Indies architectural language.
New Indies Style New Indies Style ( nl, Nieuwe Indische Bouwstijl) is a modern architecture, modern architectural style used in the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) between the late 19th century through pre-World War II 20th century. New Indies Style is basically ...
, a modern architectural movement in the Dutch Indies, was strongly implemented in Menteng. The new style combines the old Indisch style one-storey villas with modern two-storey structures. Prominent roof form (e.g. mansard roof and pyramid-shaped hip roof) was characteristic of house design in Menteng. Other characteristic element of houses in Menteng were front terraces, wide courtyard, characteristic textures in the wall, tall windows and doors with cross ventilations. Other architectural style popular in Menteng during its development were mostly early 20th-century modern movement e.g.
Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...
, Dutch
Nieuwe Zakelijkheid Nieuwe Zakelijkheid, translated as New Objectivity or New Pragmatism, is a Dutch period of modernist architecture that started in the 1920s and continued into the 1930s. The term is also used to denote a (brief) period in art and literature (especi ...
, the original New Indies Stye, and Art Nouveau. Older style e.g.
Classicist Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...
Empire Style and Old Indies Style sometimes appeared in the architecture of old villas at the fringe of the Menteng project, some were converted into museums, otherwise demolished for new development. The residences of Menteng was classified into several classes according to a recommendation by the Department of Civil Works (''Burgerlijke Openbare Werken''): Mid-high class residences The residence was classified as class 1 to 3. The houses of these type were built in the core area of Menteng and were targeted for high officials and high class Dutch or European civilians. The architecture style was known as " Transitional Period" (''Overgangs periode''), which is the style of architecture between the latest stage of " Oud Indische Huis" style, with its typical wide courtyard and wide terraces, to the more modern style called the
New Indies Style New Indies Style ( nl, Nieuwe Indische Bouwstijl) is a modern architecture, modern architectural style used in the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) between the late 19th century through pre-World War II 20th century. New Indies Style is basically ...
or the "European Villa". The area is connected with wide boulevards. Houses in this class are generally one or two floored free-standing house (''vrijstaand huis'') with one or two wings/pavilions attached to the main building. Examples are the lavish houses along Jalan Imam Bonjol and surrounding Taman Suropati. Mid-low class residences The residence was classified as class 4 to 7. These are the most dominant type of houses in Menteng. The architecture style is a fusion between the Dutch Transitional Period houses and local traditional houses. The area is connected with narrower streets, classified in Dutch as ''Laan'', ''Straat'' or ''Weg''. There were three types of small villas, the Tosari, the Sumenep, and the Madura, all were designed with garage and house servants facilities kept under 500 sqm, a prototype for houses in modern Indonesia. Residence class 6 and 7 were targeted for the colonial government officials and was known as ''Land Woningen Voor Ambtenaren'' (Dutch "Country Houses for Officials"). Generally, these houses are one-floored and can sometimes be a semi-detached house (Dutch ''koppel'').


Streets, parks, and facilities

''Entree Gondangdia'' ("Gondangdia Entrance") was constructed when Moojen designed and constructed the Bataviasche Kunstkring (1913-1914). The area which was formed by what is now Jalan Cut Meutia - Railtrack - Jalan Gondangdia was the oldest part of Menteng. The master plan of Menteng included some facilities and infrastructures: *''N.V. de Bouwploeg Architects office'', (now Cut Mutiah Mosque). *''Bataviasche Kunstkring'' (now the Kunstkring Art Gallery) *''Nassaukerk'' (now St. Paulus Church). *''Gedung Ditjen Kebudayaan'' *A school building (now in HOS. Cokroaminoto Street) *Parks cover about 30 percent of the area in 23 places (e.g. Suropati Park and Situ Lembang).


List of important places

* Canisius College * Cut Mutiah Mosque *Entertainment X'nter *''Gedung Joeang 45'' *''Gedung Perintis Kemerdekaan'' *Gondangdia Station *Grand Hyatt and Plaza Indonesia * Hotel Indonesia, the first luxurious hotel in Indonesia and a landmark of Jakarta. *Jakarta Theater * Kunstkring Art Gallery * Mandarin Hotel * Megaria Theater (formerly Menteng Theater) *Menara Thamrin * Menteng Park (the site of the former Menteng Stadium) *
Selamat Datang Monument Selamat Datang Monument (''Selamat Datang'' is Indonesian for "Welcome"), also known as the ''Monumen Bundaran HI'' or ''Monumen Bunderan HI'' ( for 'Hotel Indonesia roundabout'), is a monument located in Central Jakarta, Indonesia. Completed in 1 ...
, in the middle of ''Bundaran HI (Hotel Indonesia)'' *
Formulation of Proclamation Text Museum The Formulation of Proclamation Text Museum ( id, Museum Perumusan Naskah Proklamasi) is a history museum in Jakarta, Indonesia. The building is where the Proclamation of Indonesian Independence was formulated. History The building The buildin ...
(''Museum Perumusan Naskah Proklamasi'') * Nikko Hotel * Patung Pahlawan *Sarinah (Graha Mataram) * Sasmita Loka Ahmad Yani Museum *Saint Paul's Church *Saint Theresia's Church *Sunda Kelapa Mosque *Taman Ismail Marzuki *The Hermitage Hotel, Menteng (formerly the “Telefoongebouw” and University of Bung Karno) * Taman Suropati * Taman Proklamasi * Taman Situ Lembang


Notable residents of Menteng

*
Mohammad Hatta Mohammad Hatta (; 12 August 1902 – 14 March 1980) was an Indonesian statesman and nationalist who served as the country's first vice president. Known as "The Proclamator", he and a number of Indonesians, including the first president of Indone ...
, Indonesia's first
vice president A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on ...
*
Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana (11 February 1908 – 17 July 1994) was an Indonesian author. He was born in Natal, North Sumatra. His family came from Minangkabau who migrated there in the 19th century. He was a founder and editor of ''Poedjang ...
*– poet, writer and intellectual * Hamid II, Sultan of Pontianak *– Indonesian monarch and politician * Loa Sek Hie *– colonial politician and landlord * Adam Malik *– 3rd vice-president of Indonesia *
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...
*– 44th president of the United States. Lived in Menteng during his childhood years * Sutan Sjahrir *– 1st prime minister of Indonesia * Achmad Soebardjo *– 1st foreign minister of Indonesia * Suharto *– 2nd president of Indonesia *
Megawati Soekarnoputri Diah Permata Megawati Setiawati Sukarnoputri (; born 23 January 1947) is an Indonesian politician who served as the fifth president of Indonesia from 2001 to 2004. She previously served as the eighth vice president from 1999 to 2001. Megawati i ...
*– 5th president of Indonesia * William Soeryadjaya *– Chinese-Indonesian tycoon


References


External links

* {{coord missing, Indonesia Central Jakarta Districts of Jakarta 1910s establishments in the Dutch East Indies