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The Penang State Assembly Building is the home of the Penang State Legislative Assembly. It is located at Light Street in the city of George Town in
The Penang State Assembly Building was designed in the Anglo-Indian classical style, and contains elements of
Penang
Penang is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia along the Strait of Malacca. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay Peninsula. Th ...
, 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 ...
, within the city's UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
World Heritage Site
World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...
. All State Legislative Assembly proceedings are held within the building.
Built in the 1820s, the Anglo-Indian classical style building originally served as part of George Town's Central Police Station. It was only in 1959 when the building was converted into the current home of the State Legislative Assembly.
Architecture
The Penang State Assembly Building was designed in the Anglo-Indian classical style, and contains elements of classical Greek
Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archa ...
and Palladian
Palladian architecture is a European architectural style derived from the work of the Venetian architect Andrea Palladio (1508–1580). What is today recognised as Palladian architecture evolved from his concepts of symmetry, perspective and ...
architectures. For instance, the massive white colonnades supporting a large pediment were inspired by ancient Greek temples.
History
The building now known as the Penang State Assembly Building was built sometime in the 1820s, although its exact date of construction has not been determined. As with many other buildings of that particular period, this building was constructed by convict labourers sent fromIndia
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
.
Originally, the building was part of George Town's Central Police Station, housing the Recorder's and Magistrate's Courts. It was renovated in 1874, while another administrative building was added to the police complex in 1890.
The building retained its judicial function until 1959, when it was finally converted for use by the newly-formed Penang State Legislative Assembly. The conversion of the building into the present-day State Assembly Building cost $150,000 (Malaya and British Borneo dollar
The Malaya and British Borneo dollar (; ) was the currency of Federation of Malaya, Malaya, Colony of Singapore, Singapore, Crown Colony of Sarawak, Sarawak, Crown Colony of North Borneo, North Borneo, Brunei and the Riau archipelago from 1953 ...
).
See also
* Penang State Legislative AssemblyReferences
{{Malaysian historical architectures and sites Buildings and structures in George Town, Penang Penang State Legislative Assembly Government of Penang Legislative buildings