From Graanpakhuis to truckstop
Nugraha Pratama is an urban sketcher with a special love for Kota Tua.
“At Jalan Tongkol, Kota Tua (Jakarta’s Old Town) is an area that belongs to the Indonesian army. Four long warehouses in two paralel lines but three of them are destroyed. In this warehouse the VOC kept all its foodstuff: rice, peas, beans, peanuts and biscuits.
The oldest godown the one that I’ve already sketched was constructed mid-17th century. The other three were built between 1748 and 1759. I have read in ‘Historical Sites of Jakarta’ by Adolf Heuken that one door shows a stone with the year 1752 on it.
These warehouses were built within the eastern city wall. Between Bastion Amsterdam and Bastion Robijn. This is the last remaining city wall that still raised but it’s not in good condition.
This area is now a truck parking area. So its not easy to sketch the architecture of Graanpakhuizen”