PETALING JAYA: The building at Jalan Dato Maharajalela in Ipoh, with the simple sign “Bangunan SZTOLEE” wasn’t much to look at. It had obvious moldy patches and could use a fresh coat of paint.
Although Michael Chan passed by the building almost daily, it wasn’t until 2011 that he started paying attention to it. That’s because he and his wife, Arlene Loke, were looking for a heritage building to invest in. And after a brief tour of its interior, they realised they were in love with it.
However, it was only after acquiring the dilapidated building, and researching its history did they discover its legacy.
“The building was commissioned by Chung Thye Phin in 1905. He was a prominent tin miner and the last Kapitan Cina of Malaya, and the building was his tin and trade headquarters in Malaya,” Chan, 55, told FMT, adding that the building was historically known as Kapitan Chung Thye Phin building or Phin Kee Chan, which literally translates into “peace remembrance store”.
His father was Kapitan Chung Keng Quee, said to be the founder of Taiping and the prominent leader of the Hai San secret society.
Restoring the building turned out to be a mammoth task, given its size and age. In 2016, Chan left his stockbroking job to devote all his time to the project.
“We preserved and conserved the building section by section. We removed parts of the roof and other timber fitting and structures that were damaged. We subsequently restored them with century-old chengal and merbau hardwood.
“We also restored the signature Palladian windows, air vents, and the ornate cast-iron spiral staircase – the jewel of the building,” he shared.
He added that the staircase was a three-storey Victorian “fleur-de-lis” or French Lily-designed cast iron spiral staircase from the “world-famous Walter Macfarlane & Co from Glasgow”.
The project was successfully completed in 2020, eight years after it began and for the couple, it was a labour of love. The building has since been renamed Arlene House and is now home to the Made in Ipoh museum-gallery.
“It has been planned, designed, and curated to showcase the life and legacy of Kapitan Chung. It also includes the fascinating story of Ipoh, the city that tin built, in its golden years.
“With history dating back to the 1820s, it also highlights the development of the tin-mining industry in Perak, among others,” Chan shared, adding that the establishment had a soft launch on Dec 3.
Today, this building, with its exquisite Victorian-Palladian Neo-Classical architecture, has been restored to its former glory. But if the century-old walls could speak, what stories would it tell?
Arlene Terrace
However, Arlene House wasn’t the only hidden gem they found.
In 2013, as they passed by a row of pre-war shophouses along Market Street, they peeked into one of them: a “Straits Eclectic” architecture shophouse that had piqued their interest since 2012.
Despite its debilitated exterior, they recognised its charm: its original tall louvered shutter windows on the upper floors and the timber panel doors at its front entrance were still intact.
On that day, they saw contractors inside. “We learned that it was going to be demolished the following week, so we quickly decided to purchase the shophouse to save it.”
“Later on, based on information provided by other proprietors along the street and from our own research, we discovered that the shophouse used to be occupied by ‘Chop Heng Woh Shoe Maker & Tailor’, one of the oldest shoemakers in Ipoh during its era.”
The business, Chan added, was founded by one Ho Kwok Lim and his wife, who were immigrants from China. His eldest son, Winkie Ho, was a member of the renowned ‘Flying Tigers’, a bomber pilot team during World War II.
Chan also got to know Ho’s grandson, John, and discovered that the 80-year-old business was most likely started in 1920.
The couple spent two years restoring the shophouse, completing it in 2015. In the process, they were delighted to find a pair of vintage ladies shoes and a copy of the UK Daily Mail dated 1906.
They even salvaged vintage cast-iron gates from another shophouse along Anderson Road that were about to be sent to the scrap yard. They subsequently purchased it and refitted it to their shophouse.
Today, this shophouse, too, has been given a new lease of life. It has been named “Arlene Terrace” and is the site for “Funtasy House Trick Art”, a 3D trick art museum-gallery that allows visitors to explore the restored shophouse in a fun way.
And someday, Chan concluded, they hope to set up a corner where visitors can learn more about the history of the shophouse and appreciate just how far it has come.