Ipoh Town Hall is a historic building in

Ipoh Ipoh (, ) is the capital city of the Malaysian States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Perak. Located on the Kinta River, it is nearly north of Kuala Lumpur and southeast of George Town, Penang, George Town in neighbouring Penang ...

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

. Completed in 1916 to the design of

Arthur Benison Hubback Arthur Benison Hubback (13 April 1871 – 8 May 1948) was a British Army officer and architect who designed several important buildings in British Malaya, in both Indo-Saracenic architecture and European "Wrenaissance" styles. Major works cr ...

, it was built to host civic and cultural activities and house the main post office.

History

Ipoh Town Hall can trace its origins back to 1911 when a public meeting decided to lobby the British colonial government to build a town hall as a memorial to the late King

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until Death and state funeral of Edward VII, his death in 1910. The second child ...

. Government architect, Hubback was instructed to prepare the design and work commenced in 1914. Completion was delayed until 1916, due to a shortage of labour and materials caused by the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

.The post office moved into the building in the following year. The town hall hosted many social and cultural events prior to the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, including concerts, plays, operas, dances and weddings. In the late 1930s, Nobel Laureate

Rabindranath Tagore Rabindranath Thakur (; anglicised as Rabindranath Tagore ; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengalis, Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer, and painter of the Bengal Renai ...

held a symposium in the hall. During the

Japanese occupation of Malaya Malaya, then under British administration,, was gradually occupied by Japanese forces between 8 December 1941 and the Allied surrender at Singapore on 15 February 1942. The Japanese remained in occupation until their surrender to the Allie ...

it served as the venue of the ceremony to observe the Japanese emperor's birthday. In December 1945, the Malay Nationalist Party, Malaya's first political party, held its inaugural congress at the town hall. In 1948, the Perak State Police, who needed larger premises for their headquarters, took over the building and remained in occupation until it relocated to new premises in the 1960s, and the town hall was used once again as a public auditorium. In 1983, it was occupied by Perak Tourist Information Centre and around the same time postal services moved to a new building next the railway station. Ipoh disused post office within Ipoh Town Hall

Ipoh disused post office within Ipoh Town Hall

From 1995, the building remained vacant and became increasingly dilapidated which prompted Ipoh City Council in 2007 to step in to save the building from further decline and, working with the National Heritage Department, it began conservation work in 2009. In 2024, it was reported that the council planned to convert the building into performing arts centre and art gallery.

Description

Designed in the Neo-Classical style by Government Architect, Hubback, who was responsible for many important buildings in Malaya, the building was erected opposite

Ipoh railway station The Ipoh railway station is a Malaysian train station located on the heart of and named after the capital city of Ipoh, Perak. It serves as the main railway terminal for the state under ''Keretapi Tanah Melayu'' offering KTM ETS services, as wel ...

and next to the High Court building, both of which he also designed, in the area which was to serve as the centre of the colonial administration in Ipoh. The building was divided into two sections: the front eastern section facing Ipoh railway station served as the town hall and the rear western section served as the post office and telephone exchange. Consisting of two storeys, the exterior features ionic and doric columns and arches, with a pointed pediment above the main entrance containing circular patterns, with wide verandas on the first floor. The interior consists of the main hall while on the first floor is a banqueting room, caterer's room and a state room. The main hall, which can accommodate up to 2,000 guests, has a stage with dressing rooms behind. The floor was specially laid for dancing, and the walls are lined with wood panels to improve acoustics. The post office occupied two floors at the rear of the building with the upper floor used by the telephone exchange and the ground floor for postal services.

References

{{coord, 4.59724, 101.07208, format=dms, type:landmark_region:MY, display=title Buildings and structures in Ipoh 1916 establishments in British Malaya Government buildings completed in 1916 British colonial architecture in Malaysia