Old George Town

A few days ago, this image of old George Town in the 1920s or 1930s popped up on my facebook feed. The main thoroughfare in the image was that of Downing Street. The domed building belonged to the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank before it was demolished after the Second World War. Indeed, both the buildings on the left have been demolished too to make way for the Bangunan Tuanku Syed Putra which opened in 1962. On the right, the single-storey building and the building in the foreground have disappeared too and an open-space carpark occupies the space. But the building in the background on Beach Street still stands today. It used to be occupied by The Chartered Bank but no more, the bank (now Standard Chartered Bank) having moved further up Beach Street to new premises. 

The picture rather intrigued me and made me scour the Internet for some old images of London and came upon this one of Piccadilly Circus looking down into Regent Street in the 1920s. It's amazing how much parts of old George Town had looked like London in the past, what with similar vintage cars moving on the streets.

Finally, I's like to compare the first image with a picture of today's George Town. This picture below was taken from Google Streetview, practically from the same viewpoint but a little elevated. The building on the left is the Bangunan Tuanku Syed Putra.