Karet Street (Chinesevorstraat) Surabaya

Walk alongside of Karet Street area has seen the line of tens of building with ancient and unique architecture. Its paint is mostly matt closed dirt. Mostly is impressed uninhabited house. Since morning until evening, this street is very stirring traffic because it is the access towards Kembang Jepun Street. There are many stripper buildings that functioned as warehouse so that many large size trucks parked through this street.

When the day is start to get evening and the merchants have return, the road become quiescent and dark. There is no workload remaining except some cloister food merchants, which are already to prepare the merchandise. It seems not the famous commerce area anymore since the forming of Surabaya city. Since Deandels epoch in 1811, the government center in Surabaya City is located in Jembatan Merah (the Red Bridge) area.

There are office resident and other government activity spaces like tax and police office dealing with Jembatan Merah (if run from direction Kembang Jepun). All merged into one building. Until in 1905 permanent Surabaya downtowns location is still in around Jembatan Merah area. Tanjung Perak Port of that moment had not exist yet, so the ships that come from Madura Strait can sail follow Kali Mas, which towards to Jembatan Merah.

Temporary, the eastside area occupied by Asia people like Chinese, East Asia especially Yemen, Arab and Malay. The subdividing is not separate of the existence of regional code or Wijkenstelsel that specified by the Dutch. The Street that occupied by the Chinese people such as; Chinesevorstraat, which now become Karet Street and Handelstraat or Kembang Jepun.

 

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