The date on the building gave me the opportunity to travel back some 120 years. Wondering about how the face of the city I lived in at that time.
This building was the central bureau for telephone services in Koeta-Radja--the city name given by the Indian-Dutch government to the city of Banda Aceh to mark its occupation at that time.
The "Centraal bureau van de telefoondienst" building is octagonal in shape covered with a conical roof with square legs. It was built in two floors, but not very high, the first floor was made of concrete and the second floor of wood. There is only one door in and out and that is from the west side. Several windows on the first floor, while around the second floor there are windows. Peeking inside, I saw a staircase that curved upwards. There is nothing interesting to photograph on the inside because this building, it seems, has not been used for a long time. The building is also decorated with various ornaments. A large ornate cross was on the side between the windows on the top floor. Maybe it's a symbol related to the telephone.
Today, the 1903 building is located between two main street lanes. The archive photos that I have seen show that in the past, it was on the south side of a park called the peace park. The situation has indeed changed a lot. The building is now only a witness to the history of the telephone in the center of Banda Aceh.
This telephone service is a telephone link between Koeta-Radja and Medan, which was later also developed to connect to cities on the west and south coasts of Aceh. Initially, it was an administrative telephone that could be used by the public as a courtesy, but later it became a public line. So, the call priority changes. Administrative calls and personal calls are handled in the order in which they are requested; however, urgent service calls take precedence over everything else, after which urgent personal calls take precedence. Local rates apply in a circle with a radius of 3 KM. The office installation in Koeta-Radja is designed for 300 customers.
During the devastating earthquake in 1936, it was reported that this building was also damaged, but it seems that after that it was repaired, and today it has been whitewashed and looks preserved to preserve the telephone memories of this city, and also our history.
Below is is an archival image of "Centraal bureau van de telefoondienst" in 1910 from Digital Collections, Leiden University Libraries.. Creative Commons CC BY License.
