Jakarta City Hall

Jakarta City Hall
Jakarta City Hall
Balai Kota DKI Jakarta
	The refurbished 24-floored Building G, the main administrative office of the Jakarta City Hall complex.
	location within Jakarta
General information
Type	City hall
Architectural style	Building in various styles: Indies Empire style, International Style
Location	Jakarta, Indonesia
Address	Jl. Medan Merdeka Selatan No. 8-9, Jakarta 10110
Coordinates	6°10′52″S 106°48′44″E / 6.18111°S 106.81222°E
Owner	Pemda DKI Jakarta

Jakarta City Hall (Template:Lang-id) is the seat of Jakarta City government. The complex of Jakarta City Hall contains the official office of the governor and the vice governor of Jakarta, and the main administrative office. The Jakarta City Hall is located south of Merdeka Square. The complex consists of several buildings used for the government work of the city of Jakarta. The article covers the historic Jakarta City Hall complex located in Jalan Medan Merdeka Selatan.

Building complex

Jakarta Governor's office

The building is the office of the governor of Jakarta. Built in the early 19th-century, the building is the oldest building in the Jakarta City Hall complex. It was originally used as the office and residence of the Resident of West Java. Jakarta Governor's office is a typical Indies Empire style, with symmetrical classical proportion and rows of Tuscan order column at its front elevation.^[1]

Building G

Constructed in 1972 as a model for ideal skyscrapers in Jakarta.

History

Dutch colonial period

The first city hall of Jakarta was built on 4 March 1621 together with the development of the city Batavia. This city hall, which has been converted into the Jakarta History Museum, was the original administrative center of Batavia.^[2]

On 1 April 1905, the Gemeente Batavia (Batavia City Council) was formed to allow greater autonomy in the management of the colonial capital. Initially, the council still operated from the old City Hall in the Old Town. The growth of the Batavia to the southern area of Weltevreden forced many government buildings to relocated their address to the south, including the city hall. In 1913, the council was relocated to Tanah Abang West (now Jalan Abdul Muis no. 35). In 1919, the council was relocated to the current building in Koningsplein Zuid (now Jalan Medan Merdeka Selatan no. 8-9).^[2]^[3] At that time, the building no. 8 was used for the office and residence of the Resident of West Java, while the building no. 9 was the Gemeentehuis Batavia and the official residence of the Burgemeester. The building no. 9 was fully converted into a city hall when the official residence of the Burgemeester was relocated to a new building near the Bisschopplein (now Taman Suropati), now located in Jalan Suropati 7.^[2]

On October 1, 1926, Gemeentehuis Batavia became the Stad Gemeentehuis Batavia.^[4]

Japanese occupation and National Revolution

During World War II, the building was used for the office of Jakarta Special City (ジャカルタ特別市, Jakaruta tokubetsu-shi), headed by a sityoo. After independence, the name of the building became the Balai Agung Pemerintahan Nasional Kota Djakarta ("Great Hall of the National Administration of Djakarta City") with Suwiryo as its first native mayor. Since then, Jakarta's administration continued to be based in the same building.^[4]

On July 21, 1947, the new administration of Jakarta was unable to operate when Suwiryo and the new government of Jakarta was derived out of the office by the Dutch government whom at that time had not recognized the Independence declaration on August 17, 1945. On March 9, 1948, the Dutch government formed a pre-Federal governorship to replace the former governance and converted Jakarta into the capital of the country. The name was reconverted to Stad Gemeente Djakarta and remained so until the recognition of the independence of Indonesia on December 27, 1949 by the Dutch Empire.^[5]

Post-National Revolution

Since March 31, 1950, Soewirjo was reappointed as mayor of Kotapradja Djakarta (Jakarta municipality). Around 1954, the city hall was expanded to include the building no. 8, hence now Jakarta City Hall occupied two building plots of 8 and 9. The office building of the High Commissioner Kingdom of the Netherlands which were located next to Jakarta City Hall was also used as government offices for the Mutual Assistance Regional Representatives Council (Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat Daerah Gotong Rojong). Office of the High Commissioner of the Kingdom of the Netherlands were then relocated to Jalan Medan Merdeka Barat.^[5]

Next development

From 1960, Jakarta was headed by a governor after Jakarta's status was upgraded from municipality (kota pradja Djakarta Raja) to province (Daerah Chusus Ibu Kota (DCI) Djakarta).^[3] In 1964, Jakarta was officially the capital of Indonesia.^[4] The Governor remained an appointee of the President.

In 1969, the Jakarta City Hall expanded with construction of Building C (Balai Agung) and 4-floored building F.^[5]

In 1972, the government of DCI Djakarta changed its name to Daerah Khusus Ibu Kota (DKI) Jakarta following the implementation of the Enhanced Indonesian Spelling System. In the same year, the old colonial building located in plot 9 was demolished to make way for a 24 floors building G. Construction of this building was meant to be a pilot project for other high rises in Jakarta and a reference to lay out new regulations on high rises in Jakarta.^[4] In the same year, the complex of the City Hall was expanded toward Jalan Kebon Sirih with the construction of building H. Afterwards, new buildings were established in the complex, which include building D and building F. In 1982, the DPRD DKI building was constructed in Jalan Kebon Sirih.^[5]

In the Reformation period, by 2007, the Governor began to be directly elected.

Now

During the tenure of Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, the colonial City Hall building at number 8 was opened for public on September 12, 2015.^[6] Visitors can also see a variety of Indonesian films screened every weekend at the Great Hall Building.^[7]

References

^ Schoppert 2012, p. 76.
^ ^a ^b ^c Gedung Balai Kota
^ ^a ^b Merrillees 2015, p. 47.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Balai Kota Jakarta
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Ensiklopedi Jakarta 2016. sfn error: multiple targets (2×): CITEREFEnsiklopedi_Jakarta2016 (help)
^ Dennis Destryawan (September 11, 2015). "Ahok Resmikan Wisata Balai Kota Jakarta Sabtu Ini" [Ahok Inaugurated Jakarta City Hall Tour This Saturday]. Tribun News (in Indonesian). TRIBUNnews.com. Retrieved April 15, 2017.
^ "Basuki Dan Warga Nonton Bareng Film Slank Di Balai Kota" [Basuki and the People Watch Slank Movie Together in the City Hall]. Suara Pembaruan. Berita Satu Media Holdings. October 4, 2015. Retrieved April 15, 2017.

Cited works

Merrillees, Scott (2015). Jakarta: Portraits of a Capital 1950-1980. Jakarta: Equinox Publishing. ISBN 9786028397308. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
Schoppert, Peter (2012). Java Style. Editions Didier Millet. ISBN 9789814260602. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
"Gedung Balaikota" [City Hall] (in Indonesian). Jakarta City Administration. Archived from the original on November 7, 2016. Retrieved November 7, 2016. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
"Balai Kota, Gedung" [City Hall] (in Indonesian). Jakarta City Administration. Archived from the original on November 7, 2016. Retrieved November 7, 2016. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)