Penang Road - The early days and the good memories

In its heydays Penang Road was busiest road in the whole George Town it was the main thoroughfare from  the port to the outskirt From the high-end district to the airport as well as several largest outlets Retail business a spill over from Campbell Street filled the void.

Ask why Penang Road is famous for?

 I guess there is no notable reason other than being the main thoroughfare. This page will show the many reasons why people are passing this stretch of road and retail shopping is among them but not the top reasons I think first it was the Jual murah bazaar and the Chowrasta wet market that drew the crowd to this place The few large and notable stores the police headquarters the cinemas and finally the bus hub in Maxwell Road

Al .these points collective made Burma Penang Road area as the town center and though there is no such term but I will call it the " Boston" Junction

Part 1- Very old from Penang Road

Pix# 1 How was Penang Road

At that time there were only 2 sections - from Odeon junction to Boston and the second from Boston to Magazine Circus. This first set of pictures help to lead our mind to imagine how the early days the place would appear. Actually for that time era, none of us ready this page were born yet, So the only sensible thing would be to imagine how the ambience would be like.

This building at the right edge has resemblances of the architecture of the Straits Echo building

Pix# 2 District Police station -Brick Kiln - Datuk Kramat Road

Now we get to see a scene with two roads junction. Easily I indentify them as  Brick Kin Road the junction on the left of the fork and the narrower Datuk Kramat Road on the right side

Pix# 4 Looks like Junction into Chulia Street

With signs showing that was the "Tek Min dispensary" The caption that came with the picture claimed that this was the original spot of "Ho Dispensary". I cannot verify that - Ho dispensary was still on Penang Road for along time

Pix# 5Same Chulia Street Junction

 These two pictures appeared to be coming from the same era. Period after the second World War. The shops in business were not bearing the same names.

Pix# 6 Fast forward - Merdeka era on Penang Road

So it wasn't that daunting at all this is 1957

Pix# 7 Post war period Penang Road

With modern looking cars, this must be taken in the late 1960's era. There in the right hand edge - Wing Look Bar & Restaurant

Pix# 8 Plenty of Billboard Penang Road

A step backwards into the late 1950's era, I could have arranged thus picture in time sequel but I find this more interesting. It's good to refresh on memories on those iconic form of neon advertisement board. New gimmick and trendy then

Pix# 9 Then back again into the late 60's

This bus registration had reached in the region of  "PB" series, this clue that gives an idea of the era. That tell tale billboard "National" in the far away background got me pondering hard where would this section be?

Pix# 10  Penang Road with a road divider

Of course, the could be the early 1970's era. Not sure about the color? If authentic the picture could be after 1974 but I think I is before 1970. Main point to note is the Road divider

Pix#  42  Metal Tracks in Penang Road
Have you seen this? They have kept these tracks until quite late as the Restaurant Kayu sign was up. These remnants tracks were previously used for the Trams to run on. Oh! Many years back

Pix# 11 Nearly present day -  Penang Road

Yes the color seen in this picture is authentic. Definitely after the 1974 era

Pix# 12 Traffic Light at the Argyll Road junction

That Rickshaw [ left edge] was turning right into Chulia Street

Pix# 13 Something very familiar

Regular Rickshaw transport mode plus seeing the Penang Police HQ as backdrop, in the late 50's

Pix# 14 A bygone day's scene

A traffic police standing in the midst of "Boston Junction" directing traffic. In the backdrop the Loke Thye Kee restaurant

Pix# 15 The normal crowd and the easy going mood

Still in Black & white picture - that's how life was, regular folks waiting for buses. Little traffic and no crowd

Part 1a- An aerial View - Penang Road

Pix# 16 A couple of Aerial view - Penang Road

Those days there weas no drone to assist, pictures taken from high rise building. It was a novelty then

Pix# 17 Another aerial view

Honestly I tried figuring out the locations where these two segments and the building were - but I can't

Pix# 18 From Ground level?  Easy - Junction of Campbell street

This picture shows a good representation of the type of crowd we had on Campbell Street. Perhaps Campbell street attracted more pedestrian traffic all these while.

Part 2a - The Establishments

Pix# 19 Chowrasta Market

Campbell street was the heart for retail trade and busy shopping center.

 Penang Road was the main traffic thoroughfare but its also had the more important commercial centers that were synonymous  with its importance. To start this small section off - I listed the famed Chowrasta Market as first in attracting the morning crowd  This picture shows the rear view of the market from Kuala Kangsar Road end

Pix# 20 Chowrasta Market

Then the front view facing Penang Road. Look at thee many advertising posters plus an antique car parked in front

Pix# 21 Another morning scene - different era

The two pictures showed that cars were rare. Only for the rich & famous. Yet, they needed having some one at the market

Pix# 21 Chowrasta Market - an upgrade///

Frankly I cannot recall this up grade, though staying in Campbell street, I hardly can reconcile the frontage. No! Not at all.  At one time someone felt that it was appropriate to mount the Chowrasta Market sign on the frontage of the Bazaar

Pix # 22 Nest Door - The "Moorah"

The Bazaar - a sort of collective center for traders of house hold and utilities. In particular cloth and clothing. It was hailed by locals as the Jual Murah. Competitive pricing

Pix # 23 The first floor of the Bazaar?

Over times this floor had being taken in many tenants. In this picture the Broadway Cafe and Bar

Pix# 18 Another Departmental Store on Penang Road

And then another! Yes, the little known and short lived Angel Departmental Store on top on "Murah"

Pix # 24 The Police HQ in Color

From commercial to administrative. An enhanced color photo of the place, very likely taken in late 1960\s

Pix#33  Then that new iconic building - Komtar

Building of Komtar started in 1974 and completed in 1984. It was finished in 1985. Well gone was my "Gladstone and Prangin Roads". Changed a large part of the landscape of the whole area. Let's say the introduction of this monstrous building wasthe beginning of the end for famed Penang Road

Part 2b - The Cinemas

The last section we have covered the biggies. Now to the more reminiscent part

Pix # 25 Windsor Theatre

The old place was taken over and given a remake. Here is the opening of the Windsor Theatre on 19th March 1934. By coincidence, this period  was very close to the death of its proprietor Mr Khoo Heng Pan within days

Pix # 26 One more renamed - Hey presto! Capitol Cinema

It is taken over by Shaw brother and renamed  Capitol witha complete new frontage

Pix# 27 Choong Lye Hock Building

Notice something unusual? This building was divided into 3 shop lots, only the last of the shop has something to do with entertainment

Further down the road - the next building on the junction would be the building which eventually was taken up by Tong Aik Departmental Store after the War

Pix# 28 Choong Lye Hock Building

I am not sure whether this picture was of the same as that of the picture on top. The poster showed "Footlight Parade" could be entertainment too.

Pix# 27 Moving on - next The Empire Theatre picture

This picture with a visible date right the top, displayed the name of Empire Theatre. Frontage too, looks more like that for an entertainment outlet. The three shop lot segment more uniformly dressed uo as one unit

Pix# 28 Queen Cinema with Penang Road as foreground

This time the building was renamed as Queen Cinema. The name could be seen when viewed directly viewed from the front of it

Pix# 29 The Cathay Cinema

This picture was taken in the 1960s. I have more photographs of Cathay Cinema on another page featuring the cinemas of Penang. There was photograph of the building with just Chong Hock Lye and another with the clear name of "Queen" cinema in front

Pix# 30  The Odean Cinema
The name on this cinema start in 1933 with Lyric and then King as its name. At last I identify which was King theatre in Penang!

By 1970, It switched from the earlier trend of offering western film to showing movies from Hong Kong. Then in the last round before it closed - Hindi movies in its ending years. Then it was then known as Iswaria Veenai Cinema. The cinema was closed on 31st July 2014

Part 2c - The Retail Shops

Pix # 31 Cold Storage Creameries

As its name implies, the shop started in 1903 was a store to keep frozen meat imported from Australia. Then it ventured in the making of creameries, became a hit with the locals and also a variation in its name

Pix# 32  The Straits Echo Press 1903-1986
Penang had a new daily under the name of Strait Echo was launched in 1903 by the Criterion Press Ltd. with Lim Seng Hooi as the Managing Director. The venture was an immediate success and the Strait Echo enjoyed a wide circulation.

Lim Cheng Law, brother of Lim Cheng Ean (father of Lim Kean Siew, PG Lim) owned The Straits Echo through the Clarion Press Ltd, writing under the nom de plume “LCL.” Is Lim family related to Lim Seng Hooi?

Pix#33  Super Departmental Store
This retail stores are still in operation but I do not recall having seen this building on Penang Road. Perhaps in Burma Road. There is no way of checking as this building do not surface

A little bird told me - yes- It is at 171 Burma Road, but I am lazy to change this page again

Pix#34  Oriental Emporium on Penang Road
This of course is the vintage retail stores that most of us have not seen and I have never been inside. Just next to Capitol cinema

Pix#34  Oriental Emporium on Penang Road
Now in color side by side with Capitol cinema

Pix#36  Penang Departmental Store on Penang Road
I do have impression of this one

Part 3 - The regular  style retail outlets

Before the avant of Supermarkets and Hyper stores, Campbell Street in Penang was the road with all kinds of shops and a shopping paradise with its free port status. Penang Road was the more formal part of town with up market outlets and important stores. Normal folks like us would hardly patronize these outlets. So here I have listed some of the better known shops whose pictures I have located and which I myself is not familiar with. We cannot afford to visit them then!!

Pix# 37  100 Years Old SHELL Station
This Petrol station the frst in North Malaya was installed in 1920. The station had seen the second World War II, Japanese occupation and Malaya Independance

Pix# 37  White House Hotel on Penang Road
72 Penang Road. One of the more popular town hotels I suppose for business person and foreigners. We local would prefer those Chinese operated smaller hotels in Chulia Street like the "Sky Hotel".

One important feature of this picture was the traditional neon bill boards which started its popular use then. The same White House Hotel is now marketed as Grand Inn while the bill board disappeared long ago and  on that location was built the Oriental Hotel

Pix# 38  Tong Aik on Penang Road
That iconic store where Penang Road was synonymous with. Here is a shot in Black & White

Pix#39  Market Leader Tong Aik Departmental Store
The shop was registered for business on 31st December 1947

Pix#40  Tek Min Dispensary at the corner Penang Road
Wow! Must be that long ago when none of us living now was born

Pix#41  The Penang Dispensary
Another one of the antique store

Pix#  42  Ho Dispensary on Penang Road
At last, we are in recognizable territory

Pix#  43  Soon Pharmacy was lesser known on Penang Road
This shop was in upper Penang Road where the White House Hotel and the Cold Storage were

Pix# 44  Loke Thye Kee  on Penang Road
A very well known up market restaurant at that time. It served a fusion of English food with Chinese style cooking and which we eventually called Hainan Cooking. Understood this very well known and ostentatious location was used by families of Match made couples would meet up to finalize the wedding arrangement

Pix# 45  Kheng Pin  on Penang Road
Modern food hunters for authentic Penang Street food would come looking. Remnants of age old stalls offering Loh Mee, Prawn Mee and Lobak . Perhaps still the same old hawkers or descendants still had their stalls here. Of course this is an old picture long before those food hunters were on their way

Pix# 46  Zlin Shoe Store on Penang Road
I have special memories on this store My sister was a sales attendance in the shop for years

Pix# 47  Zlin Shoe Store on Penang Road
Here another view of the store. Now the modern Arch defaced this view

Pix# 48  No.  382-384 Penang Road, Keck Seng
This was a premium coffee shop outlet, which was extremely popular in the 1960's & 70's.

Reputed to have started business from 8th Agust,1906s.  The niche product was the Ice Cream that they offer. Cannot remember which flavor but could assume it was durian.  Another product they offer was "Ice Kachang".

Pix#  49  Wing Look on 116-118 Penang Road
This restaurant & bar was serving the identical offerings as the up market foods as Restaurant Loke Thye Kee which was back to back. With such competitiveness and good tasting food, this joint was also extremely popular among the locals. However that trend got outdated and the outlet forced to closed its business in 1980

Pix#  50  Wah Bee on Penang Road
This is one shop that few common Penangites would venture into. An exclusive shop purported still handling old Japanese cookeries and embroideries. Then, on the left side of Cathay Cinema was the well sort after coffee shop that everyone raving to get hold of  its name

Pix#  51  Back to modern world on Penang Road
I had no idea as to how popular or good was this coffee shop in the early days like 1960's. Now, in the 21st century, this shop can boast of having the best Penang Laksa and the lot, All thanks to publicity given on the internet. This is an old picture where the current famous Teochew Chendol stall on the side lane has not drawn its crowd yet

Part 4 - Special features along Penang Road

Besides the shops and places that normal folks went to, there were also special features along Penang. We saw and noticed them in the past perhaps now forgot about all about them. Here to refresh, I bring back some names

Pix#  52  Special Features on Penang Road
The Odean Roundabout? Lucky I have got this view to prove it was once there. As well as reminding ourselves that was once upon a time - a round about

Pix#  42  Quite a few style of Odeon Circus
This was another one, by now all just memory

Pix#  53  The busiest part  Penang Road - "Boston Junction"
In every country and big cities, there is always a spot that would be referred as Town Center. For Penang, the reference is the Clock Tower at Weld Quay. a reference point  where all distances out of town would be measured from.

Then in practice, we also had a de facto center point - "Town center"  It was this junction here - the Maxwell Road main bus terminal, where buses plying to all parts of the island converged. This junction next to the main bus terminal "Boston Junction", all where all traffic north-south along Penang Road, buses from all over would be passing through.

A very good picture - that corner of the "Boston Junction" where Capitol Cinema would eventually appear. The looks of the building before the Windsor Theatre came in. Thean Nam Lou Restaurant on upper floors

Pix#  54  Mobing forward - Capitol Cinema was up
The "Tiger Balm" bill board was up, the location of the restaurant remained except was changed to "Siang Kang Lou"

Pix#  55   Closer to modern days  - "Boston Junction"
I love seeing this pictures in Black & White. A rarity these days . Must be the early 60's or late 50's judging on the Hillman Minx parked there

Pix#  56  A colored version "Boston Junction" in color
Seeing the Ford Cortina, this must be a picture from the late 60's. But color photo printing has yet to reach Malaysia. So this could be an enhanced picture, which explain why it is rather pastel in tone.

Pix#  57  Lastly -The Maxwell Road Main Bus Terminal
A black & white picture showing the buses piling up along the canal. Good view of the canal too. Those days we complained that passing by, the locality would have a foul smell. Still it is a very nostalgic sight indeed

Pix# 58  Octopus Pedestrian Walkway
It is called the KOMTAR Octopus Pedestrian Bridge was built in 1993. In 2010 Geomacer claimed the the bridge was inauspicious and public opinion were sorted. By 2014, a company was employed to install escalators to its four arms

Pix#  59  Last Segment of Penang Road
Let me start off with what is still existing today - The Ong Clan or Kongsi Temple.

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Pix#  60 Ex-Iconic Building of Penang Road
Directly opposite across the road of Ong Kongsi and what is now standing in its place - Komtar. This site was the Vehicle Office. This picture is so important to me

Pix#  61  Equally iconic - The Fire Station at Penang Road
These two landmark building were demolished to make way for Komtar

Pix#  62  the 3rd Iconic scene was Billboard "Mido"
A picture taken from the window of a room in Central Hotel, could see the Fire Brigade Station and the Miod sign over looking the Magazine Circus.

Pix# 63  Lastly Special memories of Magazine Circus
I have a separate page dedicated on Magazine Circus with more pictures . Here I have inserted one cursory picture.

This has being a page showing the old good days and perhaps says the scenes of the heydays of Penang Road

I am so thankful to be given a chance to reassembled of host of pictures, bringing back so many forgotten memories. Given the chance to refresh fond thoughts and to share with those contemporaries who knew "the" Penang Road then

 To the casual visitors to Penang and also those who were not around when these scenes were recorded - well enjoy a good story

I myself am very satisfied in having catalogued my own memories