The United States Embassy in Jakarta opened on Thursday a heritage building called the Sjahrir Building after it was recently relocated and restored by the embassy.

US Ambassador to Indonesia Joseph Donovan, Jr. and Indonesian Deputy Foreign Minister Mahendra Siregar inaugurated on Thursday the Sjahrir Building, which is located in the premises of the embassy in Central Jakarta.

The building has gone through numerous transformations over time. It was originally a neoclassical "new Indies" villa built during the Dutch colonial rule in the 19th century. It was used as German consulate office between 1926 and 1942, before it was transformed into a housing area for employees of a printing house between 1942 and 1946.

The building earned its historical significance when it was used as the office and as housing for the Indonesian delegation led by then-prime minister Sutan Sjahrir at the Dutch-Indonesian Round Table Conference in 1949.

“In a sense, this heritage building honors [the delegation’s] struggle as pioneers of Indonesia’s democracy. We worked closely with our Indonesian partners and friends to install an exhibit inside the heritage building that showcases chapters from Indonesia's independent story,” Donovan said.

In 1952, the building was used as the US representative office to Indonesia. The US government also purchased land near the building and in 1958 it was officially used as the embassy for the US.

Mahendra, meanwhile, said the heritage building symbolized the strong bilateral relations between Indonesia and the US, which also participated in the negotiation process at the round table conference in 1949.

The new building is not open to the public, though Donovan mulled over the possibility of organizing public tours at the heritage site.

Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan, who attended the inauguration ceremony on Thursday, expressed hope about the Sjahrir Building also being enjoyed by the Indonesian public, particularly students, due to its historical significance in Indonesia’s independence. (ipa)