Much has been said about preserving our heritage buildings in and around the Kinta Valley. But alas, profit always seem to over ride conservation efforts.
The following photos (taken this afternoon) is yet another incident whereby pre-war shop houses are forced to make way for more modern structures….
One of our local dailies covered this story too. I’m sure some of you would have seen the demolition taking place – along Anderson Road (Jalan Raja Musa Aziz).
This is not an “artist’s impression”…it is the real thing 😉 This is indeed the Ruby Cinema – all done up for a recent advertisement by Petronas. For those of you who didn’t know, this is what the Ruby Cinema used to look like once upon a time. Also take note of the old movie posters along the side of the building.
We thank John McAuley – who was once part of the British Military serving in Malaya, back in the 1950s – for this photograph. Yes, folks it’s none other than the Majestic Cinema :). Although it doesn’t show up clearly, but if you zoom in you can actually see some vendors just outside the entrance of the cinema. Anyone remember them? What did they sell?
Yes, folks – this is none other than Anderson Road!
Taken in the mid 1950s, you can see that not only is the traffic light…the skies are clear too! Here’s hoping that the haze situation resolves itself soon.
By the way, anyone know what building that is on the far right corner? From the words, it looks like a hotel….
I’m sure many of you recognise this building – yes, it’s the St John’s Ambulance Hall! The design is rather unique, since most halls are rectangular (especially on the outside).
I do wonder who built and designed this place…?
We had previous comments about what the Oriental Hotel used to look like. Hence, here is a coloured one of the hotel (which has sadly seen better days).
For those who don’t know, this building is now an electrical store.
In a previous blog about the Rex Cinema, our fans talked about dragons. Thanks to the helpful staff at the former cinema, we managed to take these pictures (see below).
These were taken from the balcony (now full of mattresses) of the former Rex Cinema. As you can see, the right hand dragon is ‘suffering’ due to the leak in the roof above it – if left unattended to, this beautiful wall-art will be ruined 🙁
The lighting made it difficult to photograph, but somehow we managed. I’m sure there are some professionals out there who (with the proper camera and equipment) could do a better job – we’d be greatful for some better shots of these dragons, which we’d love to feature on our database.
[click to enlarge]
Dear Ipoh-ites…..can you guys guess the year this photograph was taken? The familiar landmarks may give you some clues 🙂
Here’s another hint: at the bottom left there seems to be some construction going on (at the back of Waller Court Flats) – this site later became S.K. Coronation Park 😉
Happy guessing!
Well there was one man at least in Ipoh who was very much into it, particularly ‘Kung Fu Karato’. He was known as Leong Fu and he lived at 119 Anderson Road, Ipoh. Not only was he into the art, he was the world champion, having fought in all parts of the Kung Fu world and beaten all comers. When he retired he did so as the unconquered champion of the Kung Fu world.
Subsequently in 1947 he produced a massive book describing the many moves that an exponent needs to learn. Here is the cover and a part of the title page of that book for your viewing.
This, truly a giant book, lent to us by Charlie, measures 10 x 12 inches and is 2.25 inches thick, with hundreds of drawings of the different stances and moves needed tp be practiced. Despite its size, it sold all over the world as is shown in the last few pages by a wide range of letters and photographs of people who benefitted from the publication. Leong Fu clearly put Ipoh on the world map!
Now the question is how can we obtain a photograph of the King of Kung Fu Karato? Does anyone know his family or have a photo we could scan? We really need to feature Leong Fu on our history database as there is no doubt that he made history.
We look forward to hearing from you.
Ladies and Gentlemen, we present to you 99 Anderson Road, Ipoh!
This building was originally owned by Foong Seong. Later, the Cheong family bought it. When the Cheongs lived here, the front part of the building was a men’s hairdressing salon while the back portion was a famous tailors shop from where hundreds of made-to-measure school uniforms would emerge. Any of the old girls remember Mdm Loong Foon Yoong who used to measure all the girls herself?.
The Cheong family then moved away, thus the shop became a computer shop.
This picture was taken back in the late 1970s, when Utama Computer Centre sold Apple Computers. Probably the only Apple Store in Ipoh then – unless you know different! 🙂
What is it now?
N.B. The story of the Cheong family growing up in Anderson Rioad is in the book “Ipoh, My Home Town”.
..well, not quite!
This 1914 picture shows the Gunong Cheroh Taoist temple (in the background) and part of Anderson Road (just after where the present YMCA building is).
The one driving however is Freda Jennings, wife of Jack Jennings (Editor of Times of Malaya). She can be seen driving (a lovely white car) along the wooden bridge over the Kinta River. Yes, this same road is still there today – with MORE traffic though – but the wooden bridge has been replaced.
We thank Nicholas Jennings for sending us this picture 🙂
Yes, it was WAY BACK in 1957…..when we saw Gregory Peck play the role of Captain Ahab!
They don’t make movie posters like they used to…..same can be said for the ‘cinema-experience’ that made cinema halls like Rex, Ruby, Lido, etc. favourite haunts.
The poster we have here is from Edwin Siebel.
We have here a rare picture of the Capitol Cinema, which was along Anderson Road, Ipoh. From what we’ve found out, this cinema was a ‘victim’ of a fire almost 20 years ago. Since then, the vacant site was turned into a car park. Sometime last year, the car park closed and the site is now under construction for a row of shop houses.
Can you guess the date of this picture? One clue would be the Kuomintang Flag flying above the large sign. Another clue would be the movie poster.
…..that back in 1956, the Anderson Road Playground was affected by floods? (see picture below)
Notice the cars….as they drive through the water-logged road. Anyone recall this incident? Got any stories to share?
….when ‘Alvarez Kelly’ was being shown in Ruby Theatre. (Yes, on the far right is the cinema hall which was part of the Lau Ek Ching building, along Anderson Road.)
William Holden played a ‘suave Mexican cattleman’ named Alvarez Kelly who unwillingly found himself caught in a Civil War. Well, to those of you who saw the movie – you know what happened next!
Facing the camera is the Federal Hotel and Restaurant. From what Google told us, the hotel is STILL there! Somewhere behind this hotel is another cinema – Cathay. Incidentally, Cathay was showing ‘One of Our Spies is Missing’ – a movie from the famed ‘The Man from U.N.C.L.E’ series.
I wonder how many Solo and Kuryakin fans saw the movie!!