Godowns of George Town

Godowns are warehouses used for storage of goods. They derived the name "godown" from the Malay word "gudang".

Godowns are a common feature in the buildings of George Town going back to the early 19th century and possibly even earlier. The earliest godowns were built of wood with attap roofing, often of Anglo-Indian architecture. As these catch fire easily, over time, the wooden godowns were replaced by brick ones.

One of the earliest godowns in George Town, and indeed one of the earliest non-administrative buildings in the city, is Gudang Acheh, which has appeared in the map of 1803, meaning it has been around by then. This building has played many different functions, including one as a gaol, a fact that has not escaped notice - the Escape Sculpture celebrates this particular matter.

A former Acheenese warehouse from the early 19th century (8 January 2008)


Many of the godowns in George Town were built between the 1880s and 1930, when George Town experienced one of its fastest growth since its founding in 1786. It was also a time when the Penang Harbour bustled with activity, being the main port for the export of regional material - vast amount of tin and later rubber, not only from the Malayan mainland, but also from Sumatra and southern Thailand. That period coincided with the introduction of steam ship to replace sailing ship. The new vessels required deeper wharves. The importation of manufactured goods from Europe, particularly Great Britain, necessitated the construction of godowns.

Even in late 19th century, George Town experience a scarcity of land for construction. This, along with the need for deeper wharves, provided the impetus for large-scale land reclamation, which pushed the shoreline outward, creating new land for the construction of godowns between the existing Beach Street and the newly laid Weld Quay. Streets extending through this area have "ghaut" attached to their names, as a reminder of the stone steps that once led down to waters edge, from the streets that they are known.

35 Pitt Street, now the Siew Seng Loong Medical Hall, is an example of the early 20th century godown of George Town (22 July 2012)


Godowns come in various shapes and sizes. Their architectural styles are equally disparate. Those built by the British borrow heavily from Anglo-Indian construction styles learned in India, whereas the Chinese brought Far East influence to their design, while the Malays similarly added their own elements.

By their location, we can easily tell which godown belonged to whom. Those owned by the European trading firms occupy the reclaimed land between Bishop Street Ghaut and China Street Ghaut, while those owned by the Chinese, Indians and Malays from China Street Ghaut to Prangin Road Ghaut. Many of these godowns doubled as shophouses, with the storefront facing the street while the warehousing are done deep inside.

Goods were transported from the bumboats to bullock carts and directly to the backdoor of the godowns while wholesale activity were carried out at the storefront. Some of the shophouses along Beach Street have hooks hanging down from the ceiling of their five-foot ways (take note of these if you are walking there). These are for the scales used to weigh goods.

1920s godown with jack-roof next to George Town Chambers, China Street Ghaut, George Town (25 July 2012)


Remains of a godown off Victoria Street, George Town (11 May 2013)


Godown converted into a home (11 May 2013)


Another converted godown (11 May 2013)

Architectural Styles of Buildings in George Town

 Buy, rent or sell properties in Penang

Do you have a property for sale or to rent out? Are you looking to buy or rent a property? Get in touch with me. WhatsApp me (Timothy Tye) at 012 429 9844, and I will assign one of my property agents to serve you. I will choose the agent for you, according to your property needs. So when you message me, provide me some details of what you need, whether to sell, to buy, to rent or to rent out, and what type of property, is it condo, apartment, house, shop, office or land.

Adakah anda mempunyai hartanah untuk dijual atau disewakan? Adakah anda ingin membeli atau menyewa hartanah? Hubungi saya. WhatsApp saya (Timothy Tye) di 012 429 9844, dan saya akan menugaskan salah seorang ejen hartanah saya untuk berkhidmat kepada anda. Saya akan pilih ejen untuk anda, mengikut keperluan hartanah anda. Oleh itu, apabila anda menghantar mesej kepada saya, berikan saya beberapa butiran tentang apa yang anda perlukan, sama ada untuk menjual, untuk membeli, untuk disewakan atau untuk disewakan, dan jenis hartanah apakah itu kondo, pangsapuri, rumah, kedai, pejabat atau tanah.

您有待出售或出租的房产吗？ 您想购买或租赁房产吗？ 与我联系。 WhatsApp 我 (Timothy Tye) 012 429 9844，我将指派一名房地产经纪人为您服务。 我会根据您的房产需求，为您选择代理。 因此，当您给我发消息时，请向我提供一些您需要的详细信息，无论是出售、购买、出租还是出租，以及房产类型，是公寓、公寓、房屋、商店、办公室还是土地。

 New Properties in Penang

Looking to buy property in Penang? Get the e-brochures right here without having to visit or contact individual developers.

 Latest updates on Penang Travel Tips

 Discover with Timothy YouTube Channel

 PG Food Channel

 Learn Penang Hokkien YouTube Channel

SojiMart Videos

 Share your travels and/or ask a travel-related question

Join the Penang Travel Tips Facebook Group to share photos, tips and anything related to your travels, or ask travel-related questions.

Map of Roads in Penang

Looking for information on Penang? Use this Map of Roads in Penang to zoom in on information about Penang, brought to you road by road.

Discover with Timothy

Let me take you to explore and discover Penang through my series of walking tours on YouTube. You may use these videos as your virtual tour guide. At the beginning of each video, I provide the starting point coordinates which you may key into your GPS, Google Maps or Waze, to be navigated to where I start the walk, and use the video as your virtual tour guide.

Disclaimer

Please use the information on this page as guidance only. The author endeavours to update the information on this page from time to time, but regrets any inaccuracies if there be any.

Latest from Discover with Timothy: Gurney Bay - what to see and do there

About this website

Hello and thanks for reading this page. My name is Timothy and my hobby is in describing places so that I can share the information with the general public. My website has become the go to site for a lot of people including students, teachers, journalists, etc. whenever they seek information on places, particularly those in Malaysia and Singapore. I have been doing this since 5 January 2003, for over twenty years already. You can read about me at Discover Timothy. By now I have compiled information on thousands of places, mostly in Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore, and I continue to add more almost every day. My goal is to describe every street in every town in Malaysia and Singapore.

Robbie's Roadmap