Ipoh Town Hall—Perak, Malaysia. - City and Town Halls on Waymarking.com

This is a town hall with history and beauty. Completed in 1916, and designed by A. B. Hubback, who also designed the nearby Ipoh Railway Station, the Hall lies a little to the west of the city centre. The two story Hall consists of a large, open entrance way, a large central hall, and lots of offices around, and a courtyard behind. When wandering through, the term 'grand' immediately springs to mind. The building looks brand spanking new, clearly some recent work has been done. It is also a popular site for photography. Each time I walked past there were Malays and foreigners snapping away.

When I visited there was an important event with important figures present in the hall (Chinese New Year), thus I deemed courteous not to photograph the interior while the speakers were speaking. However, grand, and white in colour, minimalism in style.

I am not entirely certain if the building is still the centre of city government. It is used for major public functions, and I was told that the town council meets here, but I am not sure if the bureaucrats, who really do the work of managing our lives, reside at this spot or elsewhere.

The Malaysian state of Perak was based upon tin mining, which made many local fortunes and gave the state great prominence. The capital is Ipoh, ~200kms north of Kuala Lumpur. The name derives from a local tree: Pokok Ipoh. The city first developed in the 1820s, but it was not until the turn of the next century, with the discovery and development of the tin mining industry, that the town bloomed. This bloom continued through the 1950s, when Ipoh was one of the leading towns in the Malay states, but came to an end in the 1970s, with a collapse in the price of tin (capitalism ! ).

In the contemporary world of the early 21st century the city is a quiet place, with many examples of past glories, however, it is far from 'dead' as some would say. It is a pleasant spot, with great tourist potential. The population within the city limits is 700,000.

Name: Ipoh Town Hall Address: Jalan Panglima Bukit Ipoh, Perak Malaysia Date of Construction: 1916 Architect: A. B. Hubback, Memorials/Commemorations/Dedications: None visible. Web Site for City/Town/Municipality: Not listed

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