Wisma Nusantara, Office building in Menteng, Indonesia
Wisma Nusantara is a 30-floor office tower in Menteng, a central district of Jakarta, Indonesia, rising to 117 meters (384 ft). The lower floors contain bank branches alongside general office space, while the upper floors are used exclusively for offices.
Wisma Nusantara was initiated by President Sukarno as Jakarta's first skyscraper. The first contract, worth $5.7 million and funded by Japanese war reparations, was signed in 1963, and construction began that year. Work stalled for about five years with only the steel frame standing, until Mitsui Construction resumed it in 1972. The building was completed and inaugurated by President Suharto on 2 December 1972.
The name Nusantara refers to the Indonesian archipelago as a whole. In the tower's early years, high rents meant only Japanese firms leased space, which stirred resentment among Indonesians; Sjumandjaja's 1984 film Budak Nafsu shows a character walking Jalan M.H. Thamrin surrounded by neon signs of Japanese companies, and a large Suzuki sign once stood on the roof.
The building sits along a main road in Menteng and is easy to reach by public transport or on foot from nearby stops. Since it is an active office building, most floors are only accessible to tenants and their guests.
The 30th floor once housed a restaurant called Kahyangan, which gave diners a wide view over central Jakarta. Kahyangan is a Javanese word for paradise or the heavens, a fitting name for a dining spot at the very top of the building.
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