492 & 490 Beach Street

492 & 490 Beach Street (4 December 2008)


492 & 490 Beach Street (GPS: 5.4122, 100.33448) are two handsome pre-war shophouses in George Town, Penang. They were built in the 1920s. 492 Beach Street faces Beach Street. It is occupied by a stationery dealer. 490 Beach Street was formed by covering up the arcade facing Prangin Lane. It is occupied by Thean Seng Huat, a rattan shop.

492 & 490 Beach Street, architectural elements (4 December 2008)


The porch wall of 492 Beach Street is decorated with embossed dado tiles, as is the fashion of Nyonya shophouses. This has been retained until today. Supporting the porch is a pair of fluted columns flaked by rusticated pillars. The Straits Eclectic-style building has three full-length windows with louvre shutters framed by molded architraves with stucco keystones.

A series of eight full-length windows run along the length of 490 Beach Street facing Prangin Lane. These too are framed by molded architraves with stucco keystones. On the spandrels between the arches are air vents.

The hipped room of 490 Beach Street appears to attach itself to 492 Beach Street, which is topped with a Chinese-style gable.

Location map of 492 & 490 Beach Street