Tunjungan Street, The Witness Of Moments - Surabaya
Tunjungan street, since the beginning of the 20th century this street has become one of the commercial centers in Surabaya. This road become the connection road between south to west Surabaya (Gubeng, Darmo, Ketabang and Sawahan), with a trading area around the Red Bridge.
The name of this street becomes the basis of a famous shopping center in Surabaya, Tunjungan Plaza. Hotel Tunjungan becomes the second famous place between Jalan Basuki Rahmat and Jalan Embong Malang. Also, Hotel Majapahit Surabaya as an historic building that is now managed by Mandarin Oriental is also located in Jalan Tunjungan.
Historically, in Hotel Majapahit was the most memorable place during struggle between he Dutch Colony. That tragedy was memorized as a Heroes Day, which celebrate every November 10. Since that day, Surabaya is become the important city regarding the struggle and it happened in Jalan Tunjungan Surabaya.
Travelers can enjoy the atmosphere of this city by walking aroung the street, because the pavement on the road is wide enough. Along the way there are historical buildings as long as Tunjungan street. One of those historical buildings are Siola, a building that stood since 1877. It is an Englishman named Robert Laidlaw who founded this building and make it as center of wholesale.
Siola is the most complete wholesale under the umbrella of Whiteaway Laidlaw & Co., a famous wholesale trademark in the world at that time. This building since the early 1900s has become the largest shopping center in the Dutch East Indies. In the next period, this place was filled by the Japanese changed and renamed as Chiyoda shop that sells a lot of luggage bags and shoes. During the battle of 10 November 1945, this building is used as a place to strategize fighters against British troops. There was heavy fighting inevitable, until later the British bombed the building and destroyed the front of the building.
Only in the 1960s, the building was seized by the businessmen who then set up a retail building named Siola. But in 1998, the retail center was closed because of less competitive with other shopping centers. Later, the building was filled by Ramayana Department Store and becomes Tunjungan Center. Today, Siola is now becomes a museum.
