Panggung Bandaraya (Malay for City Theatre)
Panggung Bandaraya DBKL (Malay for DBKL City Theatre) is a historical theatre hall located located across the Merdeka Square in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia at the junction of Jalan Tun Perak and Jalan Raja. It was built in 1896 and was completely finished in 1904.
The theatre formerly occupied the historical building of the Old City Hall of Kuala Lumpur. The theatre and old City Hall building was designed by a colonial-government architect, A.B. Hubback, who was also responsible for designing the Kuala Lumpur Railway Station, the Jamek Mosque and other colonial structures throughout the Klang Valley.
It was built for production stages such as plays and musicals. Panggung Bandaraya is gazetted as a heritage building under the Antiquities Act and its Mughal architectural-styled façade has been preserved. A major fire in 1992 destroyed the entire interior of the theatre but City Hall’s designers and builders restored it soon after. The refurbishment that was undertaken has incorporated significant modifications to the furnishing and the sound system, which was updated.
The side view of the City Theatre (Panggung Bandaraya) while in the foreground is the Old High Court Building. Both feature rich Mughal architectural style thanks to A.B. Hubback who designed both of the elegant buildings
The City Theatre in the frame
The City Theatre entrance
Its facade which bears rich Mughal architectural style
Pingback: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | ZOQY