Square Tower, Colonial defensive building at Waterfront, Kuching, Malaysia.
The Square Tower is a colonial defensive building standing at the Sarawak River waterfront in Kuching with a robust, cube-shaped form and thick walls. Today it houses a multimedia information center where visitors can watch educational videos about the building's role and transformations over time.
The structure was completed in 1879 under Charles Brooke's direction and first served as a prison featuring dungeons for holding inmates. It was later converted into a fortress and eventually became a venue for social gatherings and events.
The building displays symbols from the Brooke era and blends British colonial design with regional Malaysian architectural elements that remain visible today. This combination allows visitors to see two different building traditions meeting in one structure.
The location sits right on the riverbank and is easily accessible from the city center, making it convenient to visit as part of a walking tour. Visitors should know the interior spaces are modest in size and there is limited shade outside, so it is better to visit during cooler parts of the day.
The building originally functioned as a prison with underground dungeons that remain accessible to visitors today and offer a direct look at its earlier use. These stark rooms give a tangible sense of the site's harsh early history.
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