Originally, Armenian Street was called Malay Lane, after a Malay settlement that used to exist around the area. The Malay influences can still be seen to this day, particularly along the westernmost section of Armenian Street, where the
Penang Islamic Museum is located. By 1808, the street was renamed as Armenian Street due to the influx of
Armenian traders who resided along the road. The Armenians went on to establish St. Gregory's Church within
George Town in 1822, while the
Sarkies Brothers founded the
Eastern & Oriental Hotel in the 1880s. The Armenian presence was short-lived, however, as most of the Armenians had already left by the time the church was demolished in 1937. The
Chinese gradually took over most of Armenian Street around the mid 19th century and built clan houses, such as the
Khoo Kongsi, within the vicinity of the road. Concurrently, Armenian Street became notorious for Chinese triad activities, with the
Hokkien-dominated Khian Teik Society establishing itself along the road. As a result, Armenian Street witnessed heavy fighting during the 1867 Penang Riots, where the British authorities, reinforced with
sepoys, built blockades and used force to quell the turf war between rival Chinese and Malay secret societies. In 1910,
Sun Yat-sen chaired the
Penang conference within a townhouse at Armenian Street, during which he managed to raise
$8,000 for revolutionary activities in
China against the ruling
Qing dynasty. The townhouse has since been converted into the
Sun Yat-sen Museum, which became one of the filming locations for the Chinese movie,
Road to Dawn. == Landmarks ==