Jalan Ampang

History

Kuala Lumpur was founded in 1857 at the confluence of the Sungei Lumpur (now Gombak River) and the Klang River, which now houses the Kuala Lumpur Jamek Mosque. In 1849, Raja Abdullah acquired large sum of money from Chee Yam Chuan and other merchants from Malacca to start operation of tin mines in Ampang, granted by Sultan Muhammad. This soon attracted other Chinese shopkeepers which led to turning the isolated jungle settlement into a small town, of which Ampang, one of the earliest areas in the Klang Valley, opened for tin mining.

Ampang Road, as it was called then, has existed since the 1880s. It is one of Kuala Lumpur's earliest roads, leading from the tin mining village of Ampang to the heart of the city along the Ampang River. The road was widened in 1888 by G. T. Tickell, the then chairman of the Kuala Lumpur Sanitary Board. In Kuala Lumpur, the street then led on to Ampang Street (now known as Leboh Ampang) to its Chinese shophouses and the Malay village of Kampung Rawa (today known as Kampung Baru).

The old Ampang Road also housed the Selangor Turf Club (present grounds of the Petronas Twin Towers) and the Griffin Inn (an old colonial bar and night-club). Adjoining and across from these properties, the houses and land were owned by Loke Chow Kit. The latter (owner of Chow Kit & Co, a department store) had his country-residence at the corner of Ampang Road and Treacher Road. Other notables who lived on Ampang Road were the families of Choo Kia Peng and Chan Chin Mun and The Bok and The Khoo families.

Pekan Ampang

Pekan Ampang, the historical town centre of Ampang Jaya, is situated approximately 3 km from Kampung Lembah Jaya small village. The architecture of the town shares similarities with most towns and cities elsewhere in Malaya during the British colonial period. Pekan Ampang is still administratively a separate town, falling under the Ampang Jaya Municipal Council, but it was often included as part of the metropolitan area of Kuala Lumpur.