Beach Street, one of Penang’s longest streets, served as George Town’s financial and banking hub for decades. A bustling street during the day, the entire 2km stretch is “dead” at night, a far cry from the turn of the 19th century when it hummed with activity because of the port nearby. Its location also made it the place to shop for imported goods.

For many years, there were proposals by the previous state government to revive the financial centre especially at night, but nothing materialised.
The historic commercial centre still houses shipping companies, import and export trade offices and wholesalers and the street is still lined with premier banks which are housed in heritage buildings.

Logan’s Building which has been beautifully restored is a two-storey block of shops fronting Beach Street, Union Street and Bishop Street in George Town. It is located within the core zone of the George Town Unesco World Heritage Site.

The building was named after a Scotsman, James Richardson Logan, a barrister who arrived in Penang in 1839 but moved to Singapore several years later to join his brother’s law firm. His brother, Abraham, was editor-proprietor of Singapore’s premier newspaper then, the Singapore Free Press.

James returned to Penang in 1853 to practice law and in 1855, the two brothers bought the Pinang Gazette which was located at the Logan Building. The newspaper is said to have been influential with James as the editor championing Penang’s cause in governance, free trade and protecting commercial activities while criticising the East India Company.

James also wrote 27 volumes of the Journal of the Indian Archipelago and Eastern Asia, which were also called Logan’s Journals, from 1847-1859.

The two-storey building used to be three storeys when it was built in the 1800s but by the 1930s, it had become dilapidated.
The owners then, the Chung Keng Kwee Estate, renovated the building and had the upper floor removed.

Logan’s Building used to house upmarket shops and offices during the British administration as well as Barkath Stores which closed down during the 1980s.

This article appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, December 6, 2010.