The oldest steam roller?

This museum piece steam roller (steam-powered road roller) placed at the front yard of the West Java Provincial Office of Road Construction and Maintenance on Asia Afrika street could very well be one of the oldest steamroller in existence that is still intact outside the museum.

I have no information about the make or which year it was made (if any of you know, please let me know). But this steam roller is placed on the monument pedestal which marks Bandung Zero Kilometer and bears the following inscription:

N.W. DAENDELS, Governor General of the Dutch Indies (1808 - 1811) had one of his most important tasks given by his government, that was to build THE GREAT POST ROAD, DE GROOTE POSTWEG, stretching from Anyer (Banten) to Panarukan (East Java).

The main purpose of the construction of DE GROOTE POSTWEG was to intensify interprovincial communication in the frame of solidifying defense of the Island of Java.

When construction of the bride over the Cikapundung River was completed in 1810, on its inauguratin day, Governor General N.W. DAENDELS and the Regent of Bandung R.A.A. WIRANATAKUSUMAH II walked over it and reached this point. N.W. DAENDELS then struck a wooden rod into the ground while saying: "Zorg dat als igh terug kom nier een stad is geboud."

It means: "Make sure that when I return, a new city is built here."

At this particular point then people built a milestone signifying the Kilometer "0" (KILOMETER ZERO) point.

That moment twho hundered years ago when DAENDELS made the pronouncement is now considered to be the birthday of the city of Bandung.

High Angle View of Street Life

A baso tahu vendor walking Asia Afrika street in the city center.

This photo is part of my Bandung street photography collection and project that I keep at my other blog Bandung Street [Photography]. Plese follow the link to see a bigger photo and more of my street photography collections.

Parahyangan Plaza

Plaza Parahyangan at Dalem Kaum street in the city center is one of the oldest malls in Bandung. Built in 1982, it was the most favorite shopping center in the city until the late 1980s and early 1990s when newer and more attractive malls such as Bandung Indah Plaza (BIP) on Merdeka street began operating.

Plaza Parahyangan was badly burned and its main tenant - the Ramayana Department Store - left in 2001. Until quite recently, it was practically a dilapidated shopping center whose only attraction was a rented fulsal court on its top floor. A couple of years ago, however, the new management decided to renovate and revive it and turn it into a Distro (distribution outlet/store) center. Now five of its six floors are all occupied by 450 distros and the place is once again a bustling place for the creative fashion's small and medium size businesses.