Chartered Bank of India, Australia & China - Penang - 1930
Beach St, George Town.
Built on the site of the old Central Police Station, this imposing bank building is located at the centre of European mercantile and government interests in Penang at the northern end of Beach Street. Its faces its great rival the Hongkong & Shanghai Bank. The architecture is grand and mixes the modern with the classical; rusticated arcades, two-storey Doric columns and the mass is crowned with a Parthenonic frieze. The use of granite stone reinforces the impression of solidity and reliability which have always been the hallmarks of bank architecture. Occupying over 20,000 square foot of space, it rises 24m (80m) and the Beach Street frontage measures 47m (154 ft). The architects were John McNeill and CG Boutcher from the Penang-based firm of Stark & McNeill.
The building was opened on 30 January 1930 (an auspicious date according to the Chinese calendar) by Mrs Gilman, the wife of the newly-arrived Resident Councillor for Penang. Upon cutting a ribbon using a pair of golden scissors, crackers exploded outside and a band played a lively tune. Mr Gilman thanked the manager and after a champagne toast, the guests spent a couple of hours inspecting the building and its vast banking hall, finding great curiosity in visiting the bank's strongrooms. The upper floors were occupied as offices by some of Penang's leading firms including the Eastern Smelting Company, the Penang Turf Club, Mansfield & Co and General Rubber Company.
Incorporated in London in 1853 following the granting of its Royal Charter, the Chartered Bank opened its first office in the Straits Settlements in Singapore in 1859. The Penang branch opened in 1875, after demands by local merchants in Penang for another bank to be opened to compete with the incumbent Standard Mercantile Bank who had offered unsatisfactory terms. The bank grew to be one of the leading British colonial banks in Asia, competing for business with its arch-rival, the Hongkong & Shanghai Bank. Along with its great rival, it issued standard currency notes for Malaya. As you can see, the successor of the Chartered Bank continues to use this historic building.
Chartered Bank of India, Australia & China - Penang - 1930
Beach St, George Town.
Built on the site of the old Central Police Station, this imposing bank building is located at the centre of European mercantile and government interests in Penang at the northern end of Beach Street. Its faces its great rival the Hongkong & Shanghai Bank. The architecture is grand and mixes the modern with the classical; rusticated arcades, two-storey Doric columns and the mass is crowned with a Parthenonic frieze. The use of granite stone reinforces the impression of solidity and reliability which have always been the hallmarks of bank architecture. Occupying over 20,000 square foot of space, it rises 24m (80m) and the Beach Street frontage measures 47m (154 ft). The architects were John McNeill and CG Boutcher from the Penang-based firm of Stark & McNeill.
The building was opened on 30 January 1930 (an auspicious date according to the Chinese calendar) by Mrs Gilman, the wife of the newly-arrived Resident Councillor for Penang. Upon cutting a ribbon using a pair of golden scissors, crackers exploded outside and a band played a lively tune. Mr Gilman thanked the manager and after a champagne toast, the guests spent a couple of hours inspecting the building and its vast banking hall, finding great curiosity in visiting the bank's strongrooms. The upper floors were occupied as offices by some of Penang's leading firms including the Eastern Smelting Company, the Penang Turf Club, Mansfield & Co and General Rubber Company.
Incorporated in London in 1853 following the granting of its Royal Charter, the Chartered Bank opened its first office in the Straits Settlements in Singapore in 1859. The Penang branch opened in 1875, after demands by local merchants in Penang for another bank to be opened to compete with the incumbent Standard Mercantile Bank who had offered unsatisfactory terms. The bank grew to be one of the leading British colonial banks in Asia, competing for business with its arch-rival, the Hongkong & Shanghai Bank. Along with its great rival, it issued standard currency notes for Malaya. As you can see, the successor of the Chartered Bank continues to use this historic building.