Bandung Architectural Heritage #6: Jalan Braga 43

These stained glass windows and the lamp case (lamp post) of the building on Jalan Braga 43 are some of the remaining evidence of Braga's glorious past, which had earned it the title of "De meest Europesche winkelstraat van Indie" (The most European street of the Indies).

This building was built in 1915 and is another example of R.L.A. Schoemaker's architectural masterpiece designs.

My Wordl Tuesday Post: Braga Fest 2008 (Part One) - Bihari, Kiwari, Baringsupagi

First, my apology for the misinformation about the beginning of 2008 Braga Fest I posted earlier. My sources had somehow misinformed me that it started on the 28, whereas it officially began today, December 30th.

The 2008 Braga Festival's theme is "Bihari, Kiwari, Baringsupagi" - the Sundanese words for yesterday, today, [and] tomorrow. According to the organizer, the theme was chosen to reflect on the historical development of Jalan Braga (Braga Street) as the very street that had earned Bandung the nick name of "Parijs van Java" (the Paris of Java) and to mark the beginning of the efforts to revitalize businesses and the famous beauty of the street.

The theme is reflected in the zoning of the festival. There are three stages set along the street with the stage at the southern end of the street being set for performances that reflect Braga's past, that in the middle for Braga of today, and that at the northern end of the street for Braga of tomorrow. In between these stages were tents/stalls that showcased art works produced by Bandung's artists and creativity groups, different kinds of West Javanese culinary heritage, and fashions (for which the city is famous for).

In addition to this, as a matter of tradition, Braga Fest also features Braga Photo Festival (BPF), which this year, as in the previous years, is marked with a photo exhibition, "Photo Speak" (a series of lectures and workshops on photography by prominent photographers), photography movie viewing, and a photo contest for the general public and amateur photographers.

All that being said, let me now take you on a visual tour of some of what happened today. (I took more than 200 photographs plus about an hour worth of video clips just today; not all of them, however, are reporting worthy. So I will post some here and others at my other blogs.)

Today's post is also BANDUNG DAILY PHOTO'S participation for My World Tuesday meme. To see photos from other participants of this meme, please follow the link.



Who says that pompom has to be performed by girls?

This was one of the performances that took place in the northern stage today: A group of masculine pompom boys performed like they were girls. It was hilarious.



And here are some of the spectators:



OK. I guess you have to wait for other photos. My internet connection is being very slow today. It's exasperating.

Bandung Architectural Heritage # 5: Jalan Braga 135

These colorful windows belong to a building on Jalan Braga (Braga Street) 135, across the street from Bank Indonesia building. There is no official name for this building today as it has been left vacant for sometime. Listed as one of Bandung's Architectural Heritage by Bandung Society for Heritage Conservation, this building is another example of the Schoemaker brothers' architectural masterpieces. R.L.A Sshoemaker (the brother of C.P. Wolff Schoemaker) designed this building, which was erected in 1917.

Throughout its history, this building has been used for different purposes. I do not have any information about what this building was used for before the Indonesian independence, but after the Indonesian independence, it was the provincial headquarters of the Indonesian Police (POLDA Jawa Barat) until the 1990s. It was then leased and made into a factory outlet boutique - that's when the windows were colored like this.

Here is what the wide angle shot of the building looks like: