Re-discovering chic in old-fashioned corners It is said that Farquhar Street, at the classy upmarket end of the Upper Penang Road precinct, was once throbbing with flamboyance before and during the roaring twenties. The area was visited by the likes of Somerset Maugham, Joseph Conrad, Rudyard Kipling and Noel Coward, who stayed at The Eastern & Oriental Hotel. There were other hotels and social clubs nearby that were in vogue then; these include the Runnymede Hotel, the Raffles-by-the Sea, Edinburgh Lodge and the Penang Club. It is perhaps apropos then that two of the finest examples of heritage restoration in the UPR today are located on this side of the precinct. With curious, old-fashioned names like The Garage and The Mansion, these two places have helped redefine the concept of chic in George Town. By accommodating the treasures of the city's past in fresh contemporary commercial contexts, they have brought back a dash of the savvy in a good old-fashioned part of the town. Let's meet the men behind this nouveau trend in George Town. And let's take a look at what exactly they've done to make it all tick. The Garage The Garage is a gift and souvenir bazaar, housed in a restored old automobile garage building opposite the refurbished old-world Eastern & Oriental Hotel. The building is so named because it was originally the former Wearne's garage, selling and servicing British Leyland automobile brands like Austin, Morris and Jaguar. "When we saw the building after many years, she was in a deplorable condition," said Terrence Wong, CEO of Heritage Works Sdn Bhd, the company behind the restoration. "We began with a few simple renovations and repairs, but the vision and potential of what the building could become ignited our passion to transform her... What started off as an inspired sketch on a piece of paper eventually became a labour of love." The Garage currently houses several antique and curio shops, and a cosy informal coffee-house. It also has nightspots like the Latino-flavoured Slippery Senoritas, the unplugged Rice which plays oriental music, Lush with house music, and The Bungalow fun pub in the annex heritage building. All these chic spots blend tastefully within the 'art-deco' style of the building's former glory. But what really sets The Garage apart from other cultural villages is that it was restored using an incredible method of recycling parts of old Penang buildings. While the original structure was maintained, both inside and out, individual shoplots within were constructed using recycled windows, doors, tiles, balustrades, cast iron and facade carvings. Wong's team also decided to build replica 'street' walkways in the building to reflect Malay, Chinese, Anglo-Indian, Anglo-Malay and colonial influences. "The decision prompted us to source for real facades," Wong said. "We literally scoured the island and 'rescued' these parts from old Penang houses and buildings that had been demolished. We also found some gems in antique shops." Conservation experts call the restoration method used in this project "adaptive reuse". "That's really what it is - we've readapted the building for a different purpose and we've readapted the different parts that we collected." Similarly, much of the teak and timber such as the cengal batu, meranti and merbau were recycled from demolished old houses. The open side sections along Farquhar Street had to be walled up to insulate against the noise and pollution from heavy traffic. The walls were plastered to reflect the original wall sections, complete with the 'box panel' effect. A walk down the replica streets of The Garage is like strolling down the streets of old George Town. The narrow 'high street' complete with five-foot way is reminiscent of yesteryears when the rickshaw, horse-cart, bullock-cart and trishaw were 'kings of the road'. The Mansion Until a few years ago, the quaint chateau-style building at the edge of the 'Millionaire's Row' of Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah was a run-down, decrepit structure. It was known more as a centre for super-bikers - of all the people on Earth - who parked their heavy bikes a la Harley Davidson, outside the heavily stained, paint-cracked walls. Enter Datuk Nazir Ariff, director of the building's new owner, Escoy Holding Bhd. Nazir wanted the building to exude its original charm while being utilised for some friendly, contemporary commercial activity. "We wanted to restore the building to its original beauty," Nazir said. "We looked at a lot of old photographs and tried to restore the structure with its period colour and feel." The building is now named The Mansion and houses a stylish sea-front restaurant and music lounge. Both outlets are marvellously enriched by the great heritage ambience of the place. Indeed, it is a little-known fact that the beautiful mansion bears a charming history. According to local historian Khoo Salma Nasution, the building's construction in 1926 amounted to some quarter of a million straits dollars. This cost included expenses for panels and flooring made of Neapolitan mosaic. What makes its historic value more endearing is the mark left by its original owner - a young Penangite who fell in love with Italian art and design. Leong Yin Kean, the son of a tin miner and a student at Cambridge, also had houses in Penang Hill named Tosari and Lausanne. Leong hired Charles Joseph Miller of Stark & McNeill to be the architect of his dream mansion. Miller, an associate of the Royal Institute of British Arcitects, was young and talented when he arrived in Penang in 1926. He also designed the Woodville mansion along the same road (then called Northam Road). Dr Jon Lim of the National University of Singapore managed to meet McNeill in 1981 and discussed architectural details of The Mansion, before McNeill's death in Dumfries, Scotland, in 1988. "The uniqueness of The Mansion lies in its multi-layer meanings that encompass architecture and cultural geography set in a unique sense of time and space," Lim wrote in an impressive review that Nazir proudly showed. The side elevation facing Northam Road was influenced by the Arch de Triumph in France, according to Lim. The main hall in the building comprises large circular spaciousness - these characteristics were designed at the request of the owner who admired the design of the surroundings at Naopleon's tomb in Paris. For example, "the Atrium is exploded with a hovering rotunda space and depicted on the mosaic floor is a compass rose. Looking up, we see that the upper void space is not accessible to the public and seems encoded in mystery. Natural light pours in indirectly, and is diffused into the Drawing Room that leads to a master bedroom suite and ancillary services at the upper level." Interestingly, the palladium windows located at the front entrance of the building are replicas of windows at Boodle's Club, along London's St James Street. And here's a story worth noting: Leong Yin Kean was an amateur pilot. He once escaped with his life during a flying accident. He salvaged the wooden propeller of his crashed plane and had it displayed in his living room till his death. After he died, his two daughters occupied the building till the 1980s. The fan is now displayed in the guest lounge of The Mansion. Written by Himanshu Bhatt | Home | About Penang | Penang Specials | Events and Festivals | Local Cuisine | | Heritage | Accommodation | Attractions | Shopping & Entertainment | e-goodies | Powered by  Penang Network Services Sdn Bhd 13th Floor, Wisma TNB, No.30, Anson Road, 10400 Penang, Malaysia. 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Re-discovering chic in
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