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The Court House Complex (junction of Main Bazaar and Jalan Tun Abang Haji Openg, facing the Waterfront) was built in 1871 as the seat of Sarawak`s government, and was used for this purpose as late as 1973. It is a superb collection of buildings, with magnificent belian (ironwood) roofs and beautiful detailing inside and out, reflecting local art forms. The colonial-baroque Clock Tower was added in 1883 and the Charles Brooke Memorial in 1924.
The Court House Complex has been transformed into a “lifestyle and art space” which is now operated by the local Food Journal group.
The complex also includes The Pavilion Building- a piece of old New Orleans transplanted to Kuching. It was completed in 1909 and used for many years as a hospital. It has now been transformed into Sarawak`s Textile Museum. The complex is completed by the Round Tower, originally planned as a fort (1886), then used as a dispensary, and nowadays the headquarters of the Sarawak Craft Council. Following restoration of the original buildings and redevelopment , this important heritage site reopened in 2003.