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Senen is a long-established urban district () of Central Jakarta, Indonesia that has kept many tourist attractions such as two museums, the National Library of Indonesia, Gelanggang Remaja Senen, and narrow alleys with old Chinese and similar style shops and restaurants. It was first developed in the 18th century as Pasar Senen when Governor Daendels established the bovenstad (the upper town) as the new center of government of the fledgling city (then known as Batavia). Its core remains in what is now the lower-division Senen District, Kwitang, Kenari, Paseban, Kramat, and Bungur. Senen is bounded by a railway line to the east, Ciliwung River to the west, Pramuka Street to the south, and Abdul Rahman Saleh-Kwini II-Senen Raya IV Street to the north. The name is derived from Pasar Senen, ().
In the beginning of the 19th century, Pasar Senen became the focal point of Weltevreden, hosting the military heart of Weltevreden, the Kampementen along the road from the old town to Meester Cornelis (Matramanweg, then Kramat Raya / Salemba Raya streets). Settlements also prospered along this road, such as Kampung Kwitang, Kampung Kramat, and Kampung Salemba or Slemba. Several forts and military complexes were established to keep the security of the road.
Pasar Senen also became the gateway of the city for people coming from the kampung to the east.
The road to and from Meester Cornelis thrived as well. It was much-lined with the formidable façades of three key employment sites with commanding Ciliwung river views behind the STOVIA, an opium factory, and a military complex.
In the late 19th century, Pasar Senen was traversed by a railway and street tramlines. In 1886, a railway station was established to the east of Pasar Senen, serving as a logistic station for the area. A newer station was built a few yards to the east of the older station in 1925. Pasar Senen became Jakarta's busiest commercial and entertainment center.
The beginning of the 20th century saw several theatres/cinemas set up locally such as the Rex and Grand Theater Cinemas.
By the late 1950s, Pasar Senen had deteriorated into a slum and became a hub for gangs, illegal gambling, prostitutes, and pickpockets. This reputation continues to this day despite the multiple revitalization of the area. The area near Pasar Senen railway station became Jakarta's main red light district. Economically and socially marginalized such as the homeless, market sellers, prostitutes, criminals, gamblers, and lower-income artists and contract laborers were drawn to Senen. The red light district received the nickname "Planet Senen", a playful term alluding to the space race between the Soviet Union and the United States in the 1960s, as well as its relative isolation from the rest of Jakarta. The area was referred to as "a black place" ( daerah hitam), a place without governance, with dead bodies on the side of the road. Quasi-prostitution was common in downtown Senen, with doger dancers ( penari doger). The dances are performed by women wearing a very tight and very thin kebaya dress and a batik cloth. They wore locally-made lipstick and powder as imported cosmetics were too dear. These dancers were mostly immigrants from eastern areas such as Duren Sawit and Bekasi. Such dancers began to earn from the early evenings onwards. Men may touch and kiss them for a price. Such paid performance and companionship even took place in carriages when close to the Pasar Senen railway station.
Planet Senen also became a popular meeting place for young artists, poets, and writers in the 1950s and '60s. Every such Seniman Senen (senen artist), would congregate in local venues to discuss the philosophies and aesthetics of Jakarta. Among these were Sukarno M. Noor, Rendra Karno, Dahlia, Nurnaningsih, A.N. Alcaff, Benyamin Sueb, Bing Slamet, and Misbach Yusa Biran. The melting pot of artists in Planet Senen would give birth to Jakarta's recording stars of the 1970s and 1980s.
Dangdut, a genre of Indonesian urban music, developed in marginalized urban neighborhoods in the late 1960s and early 1970s such as Bangunrejo in Surabaya, Sunan Kuning in Semarang, and Planet Senen in Jakarta. Dangdut musicians who started their career in Planet Senen were Asmin Cayder, Rhoma Irama, Mukhsin Alatas, Husein Bawafie, and Mashabi.
In 1973, as part of the revitalization strategy of Pasar Senen, the Planet Senen prostitution and gambling complex was shut down. Senen sex workers were displaced to Kramat Tunggak, North Jakarta, by Governor Ali Sadikin, which would also become the largest red light district in later years. In 1968, the Taman Ismail Marzuki Arts Center in nearby Cikini was established as a new congregation point for Senen artists and poets.
On 15 January 1974, students from the Planet Senen youth center demonstrated against the government's policy regarding the role of foreign investment in Indonesia. Starting at the front of the Senen market, the demonstration led to a series of riots known as the Malari incident. The riots attacked the visible Japanese presence in Indonesia such as an Astra dealership selling Toyota-brand cars on Sudirman Street. Later the riots shifted to an anti-Chinese Indonesian pogrom, attacking stores owned by ethnic Chinese, including the Senen shopping complex.
| 10410 |
| Kwitang book market is notable |
| Hosts the University of Indonesia and Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital; southerly. |
| 10440 |
| 10450 |
| 10460 |
With the trend of transit-oriented development in Jakarta ushered by the construction of infrastructure projects such as the Jakarta Mass Rapid Transit, Senen will be subjected to a new urban design scheme that integrates the existing infrastructure Pasar Senen railway station, the TransJakarta bus rapid transit, and the future Jakarta Mass Rapid Transit station for the east–west line.
Within the District of Senen
Grand Theater dates back to the 1930s when it was called the Kramat Theatre. The cinema was prominent as it was centrally located in Weltevreden's entertainment district, Senen. In 1935, Kramat Theatre was renamed Rex Theatre. In November 1946, the cinema received the name November 1946 after a total renovation. The cinema's golden age was during the 1930s up until the 1950s, an era in Jakarta before television was available.
When television became available in Indonesia many cinemas in Jakarta closed including its oldest, the Globe, which opened in 1910. The Globe closed in 2009. Grand Theatre survived by offering low-budget horror and erotic films. With the closing of the Globe, Grand Theater became the oldest in Jakarta before its closure in 2016. Attempts by director Joko Anwar to revive the cinema for a screening of Impetigore in 2019 were cancelled due to permit issues.
The monument was designed by native sculptor Sadiman, Suhartono, and Haryang Iskandar, and painter Suyono Palal. It is made with cement concrete cast from Sleman Regency, Central Java.
See also
Cited works
(1997). 9789074861090, Asia Maior. ISBN 9789074861090
Yayasan Abipraya Komunika & Yayasan Mitra Sembilan Enam (1997). 9789799527004, Gedung Kesenian Jakarta. . ISBN 9789799527004
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