The concentration of Malaysian and international banks around Beach Street has made George Town the financial hub within northern Malaysia.[2] In addition, Beach Street is within the UNESCOWorld Heritage Site, thanks to the colonial architecture of the bank headquarters and other commercial buildings along the street. Administrative buildings built by the British also once stood along Beach Street; however, these buildings were destroyed during World War II.[3]
Etymology
Beach Street was so named as it was once a coastal road, stretching along the eastern shoreline of George Town.[1] Today, the shoreline has been shifted further east due to the land reclamation in the late 19th century; Weld Quay has since become the eastern coastal road in George Town.[3][4]
Beach Street was created between 1786 and 1787, making it one of the oldest roads in Penang, along with the adjoining Light Street.[1][4] Thus, it has over 200 years of history, predating many cities and towns in Malaysia and Singapore.
Since its creation, Beach Street has always served as the commercial and financial heart of George Town. The Port of Penang was situated at Beach Street at the time, so European traders and merchants were concentrated around the northern end of the road, near the piers and the administrative institutions at Light Street.[2] In its early days, the bulk of the trade came from the visiting British East India Company vessels that were travelling between Britain and China, as well as traders from the region, such as China, India and the Malay archipelago.[3]
These developments led to a number of improvements in the infrastructure along Beach Street. For example, petroleum-powered lamps were first installed at Beach Street on a trial basis in the 1870s.[2] Street lighting was then gradually installed throughout George Town over the next four decades. In 1894, a short section of Beach Street between Union and Bishop Streets became the first to be tarred.
In order to accommodate more businesses and provide more land for the entrepôt trade, land reclamation was carried out between the 1870s and the 1890s, eventually pushing out George Town's eastern coastline.[3][4] Since then, Beach Street no longer served as the coastal road, while many mercantile firms relocated to the newly created eastern side of the road, which was closer to the Port of Penang.[3]
At the newly reclaimed eastern side of Beach Street, the Straits Settlements authorities built the U-shaped Government Offices between 1884 and 1909.[1][3] This extensive complex became the administrative heart of Penang, housing the offices of the Governor of Penang, the Resident Councillor and the Solicitor-General, the Land Office and the Public Works Department, among others. The building was mostly destroyed during World War II; the sole surviving portion of the Government Offices now houses the Penang Islamic Department.
^ abcdefghHockton, Keith (2012). Penang: An Inside Guide to Its Historic Homes, Buildings, Monuments and Parks. Kuala Lumpur: MPH Group Publishing. ISBN9789674153038.
