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Menteng is a district () in the administrative city of Central Jakarta, Indonesia. Menteng is surrounded by the districts of Senen and Matraman to the east, Tebet and Setiabudi to the south, Tanah Abang to the west, and Gambir to the north. Menteng is bound by the West Flood Canal to the west, Ciliwung River to the south and east, and Kebon Sirih Road to the north. Menteng is the district seat of the Central Jakarta government.
Menteng started as a neighbourhood project, characterised by a new urban design developed mainly in the 1910s as a residential area for Indo people, the upper middle class, and high officials. At that time it was the first garden suburb in colonial Batavia. Today, the area is considered as one of the most expensive neighbourhoods in Jakarta due to its location being within the Golden Triangle – an agglomeration of Jakarta's three main financial districts. Among former residents are William Soeryadjaya, former presidents Suharto, Megawati Soekarnoputri and former US president Barack Obama – where he spent some of his childhood attending the Besuki Public and Saint Francis of Assisi Schools.
KRL Commuterline host Gondangdia, Sudirman, and Cikini stations are located within, or on the limits of Menteng. Thamrin Road is a major transportation artery in the district, with numerous offices, embassies, shopping centres, and residential apartments. Menteng Park is also located nearby.
| Has southern part of the Menteng Project. |
| Location where the Proclamation of Indonesian Independence was read |
| Has northern zone of the Menteng Project. |
The Menteng Project was the most ambitious residential planning project between 1910 and 1939. The project was meant to be the southern expansion of the city Batavia. Thomas Karsten, in his 1939 memorandum to the colonial government, referring to Menteng Project and several other residential projects in the Indies - pointed out that real estate offices and the building trade have turned their attention to the needs of the upper middle class - particularly those of the Europeans, but moreover those of the small category categories of the other population groups in that class (i.e. natives and foreign orientals, mostly Chinese).
When the city of Batavia was confident to absorb new supply of middle-class housing – as well as to prevent further illegal kampung development from encroaching onto this area – the city decided to purchase the Menteng land and created the technical commission to oversee its development. De Bouwploeg was established to acquire a plot of land in Menteng and another 73 hectares of land from the Gondangdia private estate. The land in the Gondangdia private estate was bought by Bouw- en Cultuur Maatschappij Gondangdia from a Dutch widow J.V.D. Bergh in 1892, which at that time was inhabited by 3,052 peasants.
Although planning for Menteng began in 1910, it was not until 1912 that Moojen's revised plan was officially unveiled. Key difference with the original garden city model was that Menteng was not intended to be a freestanding, self-contained place, but to link up with adjacent residential areas. For example, the broad Nassau Boulevard (now Jalan Imam Bonjol) that bisected the Menteng residential area adjacent to the central square (now Taman Suropati) was intended to connect Tanah Abang (an important market place) to the west and Jatinegara to the east. The Java Street ( Javaweg, now Jalan HOS Cokroaminoto) was to serve as a north–south connector from Kebon Sirih to the southern fringe of Batavia, the boundary was marked at that time by the line of a flood canal.
Moojen's plan was later extensively modified by F.J. Kubatz as part of the city's next development plan. In the Kubatz plan, the street pattern was changed and a small pond (Situ Lembang) was added to the east of the central park area, originally named Bisschooplein after G.J. Bishop, mayor of Batavia (1916-1920). Other architects contributed to the character of Menteng Residential Area through landmarks. Architect Ghijsels designed Indies-styled houses, St. Paul's Church and the adjacent Logegebouw, which was the office of the burgemester, centrally positioned and facing the central park (now the Indonesian national development planning board (BAPPENAS)). Ghijsels's colleagues in the AIA, architect J.F.L. Blankenberg, designed some lavish residences in Menteng between 1926 and 1939 (after Ghijsels had returned to the Netherlands) e.g. the home of the owner of Wellenstein & Krausse Company (1926, now the residence of the US Ambassador to Indonesia), home of the Governor of Jakarta (1939), and several lavish residences for local businessmen along Jalan Imam Bonjol (one of which is now the National Proclamation Museum).
During the 1932-1937 Great Depression, development of Menteng slowed down. During the period, houses in Menteng were built in two levels, partly to expand the building area without having to increase land plot. These two-floors buildings were partly inspired by similar houses designed by Moojen in Kramat V-VII in 1919. These houses in Menteng were located in van Heutszboulevard (Jalan Teuku Umar), van Breen weg (Jalan Latuharhari), Nassau Boulevard (Jalan Imam Bonjol) and Oranje Boulevard (Jalan Diponegoro). After the crisis, development was enacted again, such as the construction of St. Paul's Church.
The Menteng Project provided commissions for growing architect and planning firms that had set up in Batavia, which included M.J. Hulswit, the very prominent Eduard Cuypers, Biezeveld and Moojen, Bakker and Meyboom, AIA. Other firms active in Menteng Project were Semarang-based Thomas Karsten, Lutjens, Toussaint, and Henri Maclaine Pont; and Bandung-based Wolff Schoemaker.
Presently, conservation of Menteng residential area has shown many problems. Despite being a cultural heritage area, many houses were renovated into a Neoclassical style by newcomers, a style which has no relation with Menteng residential area's characteristic early 20th-century modern architecture. Authorities may stop the construction of a building which violate the Menteng style, but some projects resume until the houses are finished. Other problem related to the conservation of Menteng residential area are banning of businesses in the area despite the rising land taxes, fraud by architects of the newly renovated buildings, and the general lack of knowledge in conservation.
The residences of Menteng was classified into several classes according to a recommendation by the Department of Civil Works ( Burgerlijke Openbare Werken): Mid-high class residences The residence was classified as class 1 to 3. The houses of these type were built in the core area of Menteng and were targeted for high officials and high class Dutch or European civilians. The architecture style was known as "Indies Style" ( Overgangs periode), which is the style of architecture between the latest stage of "Oud Indische Huis" style, with its typical wide courtyard and wide terraces, to the more modern style called the New Indies Style or the "European Villa". The area is connected with wide boulevards.
Houses in this class are generally one or two floored free-standing house ( vrijstaand huis) with one or two wings/pavilions attached to the main building. Examples are the lavish houses along Jalan Imam Bonjol and surrounding Taman Suropati.
Mid-low class residences The residence was classified as class 4 to 7. These are the most dominant type of houses in Menteng. The architecture style is a fusion between the Dutch Transitional Period houses and local traditional houses. The area is connected with narrower streets, classified in Dutch as Laan, Straat or Weg. There were three types of small villas, the Tosari, the Sumenep, and the Madura, all were designed with garage and house servants facilities kept under 500 sqm, a prototype for houses in modern Indonesia.
Residence class 6 and 7 were targeted for the colonial government officials and was known as Land Woningen Voor Ambtenaren (Dutch "Country Houses for Officials"). Generally, these houses are one-floored and can sometimes be a semi-detached house (Dutch koppel).
The master plan of Menteng included some facilities and infrastructures:
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