KUALA LUMPUR – The properties housing the historic Coliseum cinema, cafe, and hotel on Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman are up for sale for an undisclosed sum.
The sale was announced by realtor Knight Frank Malaysia on LinkedIn, inviting interested parties to contact them for more information.
Appointed to market the disposal of the cinema and the adjacent lots that housed the former cafe and hotel, Knight Frank highlighted the properties’ good accessibility on one of Kuala Lumpur’s busiest roads and proximity to other major roads in the city centre.
“Built in 1920, the Art Deco-style cinema is the oldest and continuously running cinema hall in the country. If required, vacant possession can be provided to the new purchaser.
“The adjacent cafe and hotel – now vacant – has a long history dating back over a century.
“Offers to purchase are invited for these two heritage properties either separately or together,” it said.
Unable to survive economic devastation from the Covid-19 lockdowns, the Coliseum Cafe on Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman closed for good in 2021, its centennial year.
The eatery, famous for its sizzling stakes served by elderly waiters and eaten on starched white tablecloths, had served Hainanese western-style cooking since 1921. It also had an adjoining bar at the Coliseum Hotel, where beverages were enjoyed while sitting on vintage furniture.
New restaurant outlets under the same flagship name have opened elsewhere but, as some would say, without the smoky, old Malaya charm.
A frequently-cited previous cafe customer is the late English author W. Somerset Maugham.
The theatre, meanwhile, is one of the oldest in the country. It came under new management in 2012 and was renamed the Lotus Five Star Cinema, which screened mostly Bollywood, Tamil and Hindi movies.
The properties were built by Chua Cheng Bok, a wealthy businessman born in Melaka in 1880 to immigrants from Fujian, China. The buildings were maintained by a family trust following his death in 1940 until 1973. The Chua family is reported to have divested their interest in the buildings since 2011. – May 3, 2024