86 Beach Street

Back in September 2015, I had written a story on Ban Hin Lee Bank to commemorate what would have been the 80th anniversary of this Penang-based bank. I say "would have been" because the bank has since disappeared from the community, fallen to a grand government-initiated merger scheme in 2000. In that post, I had written that when the bank first opened its doors for business, its premises occupied the ground floor of 86 Beach Street in the Chinese quarters of the town. 

Today, I would like to touch on the original building which had once stood on this piece of land. It is this magnificent-looking three-storey building, capped with a dome, at the corner of Beach Street and Market Street. 

The ground floor was occupied by Ban Hin Lee Bank and above it was an architect's office. Occupying the top floor was the office of another prominent Penang businessman, Heah Joo Seang. 

It was after the bank had moved to its permanent premises at 43 Beach Street that this building was leased to other businesses such as this Penang Trading Company. (Note: Just to be sure, this Penang Trading Company should not be confused with an identically-named business that was established in 1969 and is selling pepper and other spices today.)

I've also a book which showed a picture of Beach Street, taken from the direction of the Chulia Street junction, which had a partial view of the building on the left side of the road but interestingly enough, the dome is missing. 

I'm told that this picture dated back to the 1920s when the original building was probably constructed, but who knows, it could be even earlier. 

By the mid-1930s, a dome had been added, as can be seen from this picture. Unfortunately, I have no idea when the building was torn down. It must be quite a long time ago because I do not remember seeing a domed tower in this part of town. The ownership of the building changed hands in 1969 and a modest six-storey building was built in its place. Overseas Union Bank operated a branch from this building after moving over from 35 Beach Street. 

Then at the turn of the 21st Century, the branch was renamed as United Overseas Bank after Overseas Union Bank was bought up. Due to consolidation later, United Overseas Bank ceased to operate from here and the building was left vacant for quite a while until Standard Chartered Bank relocated here from their original premises at the other end of Beach Street. It remains as Standard Chartered Bank till this day.  

During the research for my book, Ten Thousand Prosperities: The Story of Ban Hin Lee Bank, I realised that although the three-storey building was used by Ban Hin Lee Bank, the owner was the millionaire Yeap Chor Ee. 

There is no indication when the ownership came into his hands but by the 1930s it was already his. He was such a successful businessman that he owned many properties in this part of Beach Street. Definitely, this building was his because I've seen an image of an Indenture where he transferred the land title from himself to Ban Hin Lee Bank Limited in 1939 for Straits Dollars 15,000.

The bank itself first operated from this address when it was opened for business on 1 November 1935. It was only in 1938 that it moved over to Number 43. On the right are the two pictures that I used in the book.

Mail orders for Ten Thousand Prosperities: The Story of Ban Hin Lee Bank are now available from my publisher's website. The price of each copy is RM65. Due to the pandemic, delivery within Malaysia is free of charge until further notice. Global shipping is also possible but please do check from the website.

Finally, here is another picture of busy Beach Street in the 1930s. The magnificent domed building can't be missed but another interesting domed building can be seen in the far distance. That one belonged to the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation and was damaged during the bombing raids of the Japanese Occupation. It must have been quite a sight in the past with two similar domes at either end of Beach Street. The Hongkong and Shanghai Bank's domed building at the corner of Beach Street and Downing Street was torn down after the war and the present one constructed as a replacement.