Medan's symbol
A towering iron tower.
Kenrick — CC BY-SA 4.0 · hotmahtg — CC BY-SA 3.0 · ARamadhan at English Wikipedia — Public domain
A towering iron water tower the Dutch built in 1908 to supply drinking water to fast-growing Medan in the tobacco boom, rising about forty metres, which has become one of the city's best-known symbols, appearing in its photographs and emblems. The tower has a massive base and interlaced iron columns carrying a large cylindrical tank, in the European industrial style of the early twentieth century, and it still stands in the city water company's compound, lit up at night. It cannot be climbed or entered and is seen from the street and around it, so a stop is short, a few minutes for photos. It is a stop on a tour of Medan's colonial buildings, with the old post office, the town hall, the Kesawan quarter and the Grand Mosque, all short drives or walks apart.
A towering iron tower.
Built for a growing city.
In the city's heart.
Jalan Sisingamangaraja, central Medan
Tjong A Fie MansionA two-storey mansion in Chinese-European style in the old Kesawan quarter of cen8 minutes walk
Sri Deli ParkA historic park beside Medan's Grand Mosque that was a royal garden of the Deli 8 minutes walk
Kesawan, Old MedanMedan's oldest commercial quarter, which grew in the late nineteenth century whe10 minutes walk
Maimun PalaceThe palace of the Deli sultans and Medan's leading historic landmark, built by S10 minutes walk
Grand Mosque of Medan (Masjid Raya Al-Mashun)Sumatra's most beautiful mosque and Medan's best-known landmark, built by Sultan10 minutes walkNo, it stands in the water company's compound and is still a working facility; it can only be seen and photographed from outside.