When we hear about Menteng, the first thing that comes to our mind is that Menteng is a residential area for people with high economic strata. Menteng is, indeed, an elite neighborhood with many luxury homes. However, did you know that the Menteng area has been known since the Dutch colonial era? Hundreds of years ago, Menteng received attention from the colonies.Originally, this area was a forest that was overgrown with Menteng fruit trees (Baccaurea racemosa). Those are the reasons why people named this area Menteng, it was a lesser-known area of south Batavia in the 17th century that was inhabited by wild animals. Another story stateds that the name Menteng came from a Bugis and Makassar merchant named Daeng Menteng. During his lifetime, Daeng Menteng provided services for the Dutch East Indies Government and was awarded land in the current Menteng area.
Menteng received a boost of development during the Dutch East Indies expedition led by Governor General Herman Willem Daendels in 1810. It is estimated that a century later, the Dutch government bought part of the Menteng land to be used as housing for Dutch employees. The Menteng development design was made twice by a well-known architect, namely Adrian Jacobus Moojen. According to his design, he made Menteng became a part of the development of the Gondangdia area to the north. The architectural design followed the style of British planner Ebenezer Howard, whose main feature was the integration of settlements and city parks. However, Mugen's design is more modern, developing the Menteng area into a suburban area integrated with other public facilities such as road networks, schools, places of worship, and road routes connecting other areas. Since this area was highly influenced by the development of Dutch government for quite long time, it is not surprising that we often find old European-style buildings in Menteng.
Waterways and roads were built, as were various supporting structures, such as the N.V. de Bouwploeg (now Cut Mutiah Mosque), the Bataviasche Kunstkring Building (now Immigration Service), Nassaukerk (now GPIB Paulus), a school (Theresia Primary School, opened in 1927), and a cinema. The cinema that existed at the time was called Menteng Cinema, built in 1950 with Indian ropean style (now changed to Plaza Menteng). After Indonesia's independence, Menteng continues to be a major elite area in central Jakarta. In addition to the consulate, there are several historical sites and locations, for example, Admiral Maeda's former residence, now the Formulation of Proclamation Text Museum located at, Jalan Imam Bonjol . Menteng is also well-known fom the fact that the —famous former United States President Barack Obama spent his childhood.
Currently, Menteng is designated as an area with sub-district status that is part of the Municipality of Central Jakarta. All in all, Menteng does have its own uniqueness and history, especially when its located in the heart of Jakarta. Many cultural heritages with typical Dutch architecture made Menteng feel like a "time machine portal" to the past. Curious to spend your life in the amazing and glamorous Menteng? We, Ray White Menteng, are ready to help you experience that! Remember Residential! Remember Ray White!
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