Magazine Road Heritage Row

Magazine Road Heritage Row (19 March 2010)


The Magazine Road Heritage Row is a row of ten Straits Eclectic residential townhouses along Magazine Road. It was built in the early part of the 20th century, as a redevelopment of the thatched neighbourhood that used to be located across the Prangin Canal. These were not shophouses - the ground floor has never been used as a shop - but rather purpose-built as homes. They are often the homes of the merchants and traders whose business take place along the Prangin Canal and the Sia Boey market . The frequent fires sweeping the area necessitated the rebuilding in bricks.

The Magazine Road Heritage Row is are the northern border of the Seven Streets Precinct, a working-class neighbourhood located across the Anson Bridge.

By the 1970's, the townhouses of George Town have deteriorated to a deplorable state. The Rent Control Act, which capped the rental on pre-war houses, had kept the houses frozen in time with no inclination from its owns to improve them. In those days, it was more fashionable to demolish than to restore. When the Komtar project was spearheaded, whole neighbourhoods in George Town got bulldozed away. Even today, remnants of townhouses along the rump Tek Soon Street stand as reminders of the gross mistreatment we gave to our heritage, waiting for the day the bull dozers will come.

Magazine Road Heritage Row (19 March 2010)


The Magazine Road Heritage Row is one lucky row of townhouses. In the mid 1970's, the bull dozers came close to bringing them down, when the townplanner's pen decided that they should make way for road widening. But somehow, they were spared, and Magazine Road was widened without harming them. The same could not be said of the townhouses on the opposite side of Magazine Road, which all have their days numbered.

Rent here was cheap, and it was here that the Democratic Action Party (DAP), under its former secretary general Lim Kit Siang launch the Tanjung I electoral campaign to wrest the state government of Penang from the Barisan Nasional. Though the campaign failed in its quest, 22 years later Lim's son returned to the house of his father's base, as the Chief Minister of Penang no less, accomplishing what had been two decades in the making.

The Magazine Road Heritage Row was restored by the family of Datuk Seri Stephen Yeap (who also did the Pinang Peranakan Mansion) at a cost of RM1.8 million, engaging heritage architect Laurence Loh for the job.

At time of writing (May 2010), it hasn't been confirmed the use of the Magazine Road Heritage Row, whether it will be turned into a boutique hotel, or a museum of the history of George Town, or service apartments. We will wait for further news on this matter.

Nearby Sights

Nearby Shopping

Getting there

The nearest bus stop is along Magazine Road Ghaut. It is served by Rapid Penang bus 303, 307 and 401E.

Alternatively, you can walk from the Komtar Bus Terminal. Take Jalan Ria until you reach Magazine Road. Turn left and walk east along Magazine Road until you see the heritage row on the south side of the road.

View Magazine Road Heritage Row in a larger map

Private Guided Tours of Penang

If you are seeking private guided tours of Penang, message Penang Tour Guides at penangtourguides@gmail.com and enquire with them.

 Buy, rent or sell properties in Penang

Do you have a property for sale or to rent out? Are you looking to buy or rent a property? Get in touch with me. WhatsApp me (Timothy Tye) at 012 429 9844, and I will assign one of my property agents to serve you. I will choose the agent for you, according to your property needs. So when you message me, provide me some details of what you need, whether to sell, to buy, to rent or to rent out, and what type of property, is it condo, apartment, house, shop, office or land.

Adakah anda mempunyai hartanah untuk dijual atau disewakan? Adakah anda ingin membeli atau menyewa hartanah? Hubungi saya. WhatsApp saya (Timothy Tye) di 012 429 9844, dan saya akan menugaskan salah seorang ejen hartanah saya untuk berkhidmat kepada anda. Saya akan pilih ejen untuk anda, mengikut keperluan hartanah anda. Oleh itu, apabila anda menghantar mesej kepada saya, berikan saya beberapa butiran tentang apa yang anda perlukan, sama ada untuk menjual, untuk membeli, untuk disewakan atau untuk disewakan, dan jenis hartanah apakah itu kondo, pangsapuri, rumah, kedai, pejabat atau tanah.

您有待出售或出租的房产吗？ 您想购买或租赁房产吗？ 与我联系。 WhatsApp 我 (Timothy Tye) 012 429 9844，我将指派一名房地产经纪人为您服务。 我会根据您的房产需求，为您选择代理。 因此，当您给我发消息时，请向我提供一些您需要的详细信息，无论是出售、购买、出租还是出租，以及房产类型，是公寓、公寓、房屋、商店、办公室还是土地。

 New Properties in Penang

Looking to buy property in Penang? Get the e-brochures right here without having to visit or contact individual developers.

 Latest updates on Penang Travel Tips

 Share your travels and/or ask a travel-related question

Join the Penang Travel Tips Facebook Group to share photos, tips and anything related to your travels, or ask travel-related questions.

Map of Roads in Penang

Looking for information on Penang? Use this Map of Roads in Penang to zoom in on information about Penang, brought to you road by road.

Discover with Timothy

Let me take you to explore and discover Penang through my series of walking tours on YouTube. You may use these videos as your virtual tour guide. At the beginning of each video, I provide the starting point coordinates which you may key into your GPS, Google Maps or Waze, to be navigated to where I start the walk, and use the video as your virtual tour guide.

Disclaimer

Please use the information on this page as guidance only. The author endeavours to update the information on this page from time to time, but regrets any inaccuracies if there be any.

Songs about Penang

About this website

Hello and thanks for reading this page. My name is Timothy and my hobby is in describing places so that I can share the information with the general public. My website has become the go to site for a lot of people including students, teachers, journalists, etc. whenever they seek information on places, particularly those in Malaysia and Singapore. I have been doing this since 5 January 2003, for over twenty years already. You can read about me at Discover Timothy. By now I have compiled information on thousands of places, mostly in Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore, and I continue to add more almost every day. My goal is to describe every street in every town in Malaysia and Singapore.