iSee Gedung Cigar

Cigar or spaceship

This iconic building is easily spotted because of its unique tower that resembles a rocket. Locally referred to as Gedung Cerut (cigar tower) it was built in 1916 by a Dutch company in the rubber trade that later merged into the large multinational tyre manufacturer Bridgestone. Interesting detail: the main building has a perfectly symmetrical pattern, while the building just has one tower.

Heerenstraat

Rajawali Street - called ‘Heerenstraat’ (governor’s street) in the old days- was Surabaya’s commercial artery. In those days this was the location of choice for the headquarters of the large European tobacco, sugar, spice and coffee trading houses. A convenient location with prestigious office frontage and back side warehouses with close access to the Tanjung Perak harbour.

Heerenstraat was the final point of the ‘Grote Postweg‘ (Great Postal Road), an early 19th century initiative to connect the major Javanese cities by road: 1,100 kilometers long from Jakarta to Surabaya. The Grote Postweg reduced travel time between the two major commercial centres from 30 days to 8 (4 days for express delivery) and led to an unprecedented growth in commercial trade between the cities and Javanese hinterlands.

For years, a sturdy square plump Gouvernementsgebouw (City Hall) stood in front of the Red Bridge as a firm divider between the European and Chinese & Arab Quarter at the other side of the Kali Mas river. It was demolished in 1931 to pave the way for traffic into Kembang Jepun ‘Handelsstraat’ (trading street) across the river.

The current name Rajawali means eagle. After independence, many of the streets in the area were named after birds, like Jl. Cendrawasih (bird of paradise) and Jl. Elang (hawk).

Bank BNI

A real gem is the grand lobby of Bank BNI in beautiful art-deco style decorated with amazing stained glass windows. BNI is a 200m walk from the red bridge, located on the right side with the entrance on the corner of Jl. Rejawali / Jl. Kasuari). (open Mon-Fri 9am-5pm).