Early establishment Following the establishment of the upper town (
bovenstad) of Batavia, Justinus Vinck, a Dutch entrepreneur, decided to develop two markets to serve the upper town. On 30 August 1733, Vinck established two markets: Pasar Tanah Abang (erroneously spelled as
Tanabang) to the southwest of
Koningsplein and Pasar Senen (variously spelled as
Pasar Senin, Bazaar Senin, Passar Senen, Passer Senen) to the east of Koningsplein and its broader
Weltevreden suburb (meaning well-contented), a European-centric neighborhood of the upper town. Both markets were connected with a road simply known as
weg van Tanabang naar Weltevreden, which would later become Jalan Kwitang & KH. Wahid Hasyim. The market site stood straddling today's
Segitiga Senen ("Senen Triangle") and Pasar Senen (the government-owned market between the train station and Senen Street). In the beginning of the 19th century, Pasar Senen became the focal point of Weltevreden, hosting the military heart of Weltevreden, the
Kampementen along the road from the old town to
Meester Cornelis (Matramanweg, then Kramat Raya / Salemba Raya streets). Settlements also prospered along this road, such as Kampung Kwitang, Kampung Kramat, and Kampung Salemba or Slemba. Several forts and military complexes were established to keep the security of the road. Pasar Senen also became the gateway of the city for people coming from the kampung to the east.
Modern colonialism As time went on, Pasar Senen grew into a mainly Chinese commercial center. Its heart became partly filled with Chinese-style shophouses and narrow alleyways (Dutch
gang[en]). Among these were Gang Wang Seng, Gang Kenanga Noord, Gang Kenanga Zuid in what is now Segitiga Senen; and Gang Senen Binnen in what is now Pasar Senen. The road to and from Meester Cornelis thrived as well. It was much-lined with the façades of three key employment sites with
Ciliwung river views behind the
STOVIA, an opium factory, and a military complex. In the late 19th century, Pasar Senen was traversed by a railway and street tramlines. In 1886,
a railway station was established to the east of Pasar Senen, serving as a logistic station for the area. A newer station was built a few yards to the east of the older station in 1925. Pasar Senen became Jakarta's busiest commercial and entertainment center. The beginning of the 20th century saw several theatres/cinemas set up locally such as the Rex and Grand Theater Cinemas.
Post-independence period Following the independence of Indonesia, people from around the country began to flock to the new capital in search of opportunities. The Pasar Senen area, originally a Chinese-dominated area, became populated by
Bantenese,
Sundanese,
Minang, and
Batak traders and employees during the 1950s. By the late 1950s, Pasar Senen had deteriorated into a slum and became a hub for gangs, illegal gambling, prostitutes, and pickpockets. This reputation continues to this day despite the multiple revitalization of the area. The area near
Pasar Senen railway station became Jakarta's main red light district. Economically and socially marginalized such as the homeless, market sellers, prostitutes, criminals, gamblers, and lower-income artists and contract laborers were drawn to Senen. The red light district received the nickname "Planet Senen", a playful term alluding to the
space race between the
Soviet Union and the
United States in the 1960s, as well as its relative isolation from the rest of Jakarta. The area was referred to as "a black place" (
daerah hitam), a place without governance, with dead bodies on the side of the road. Quasi-prostitution was common in downtown Senen, with doger dancers (
penari doger). The dances are performed by women wearing a very tight and very thin
kebaya dress and a batik cloth. They wore locally-made lipstick and powder as imported cosmetics were too dear. These dancers were mostly immigrants from eastern areas such as
Klender and
Bekasi. Such dancers began to earn from the early evenings onwards. Men may touch and kiss them for a price. Such paid performance and companionship even took place in carriages when close to the
Pasar Senen railway station. Planet Senen also became a popular meeting place for young artists, poets, and writers in the 1950s and '60s. Every such
Seniman Senen (senen artist) would congregate in local venues to discuss the philosophies and aesthetics of Jakarta. Among these were
Sukarno M. Noor,
Rendra Karno, Dahlia,
Nurnaningsih, A.N. Alcaff,
Benyamin Sueb,
Bing Slamet, and
Misbach Yusa Biran.
Dangdut, a genre of Indonesian urban music, developed in marginalized urban neighborhoods in the late 1960s and early 1970s such as Bangunrejo in Surabaya, Sunan Kuning in Semarang, and Planet Senen in Jakarta. Dangdut musicians who started their career in Planet Senen were Asmin Cayder,
Rhoma Irama, Mukhsin Alatas, Husein Bawafie, and Mashabi.
Project Senen (1960s) In 1962, the government of Jakarta and several private investors formed PT
Pembangunan Jaya as a joint public-private partnership to revitalize Senen and replace the old shops. The strategy, known as the Project Senen () replaced the old Chinese shops with a complex of modern shopping centers, consisting of six modern market blocks numbered I to VI. This plan displaced many urban dwellers from the original Planet Senen. Construction of Block I started in 1962 and was completed in 1966. The last Block, VI, was completed in 1977; a new bus terminal was built next to this in 1980. In 1973, as part of the revitalization strategy of Pasar Senen, the Planet Senen prostitution and gambling complex was shut down. Senen sex workers were displaced to
Kramat Tunggak, North Jakarta, by Governor
Ali Sadikin, which would also become the largest red light district in later years. In 1968,
the Taman Ismail Marzuki Arts Center in nearby
Cikini was established as a new congregation point for Senen artists and poets. On 15 January 1974, students from the Planet Senen youth center demonstrated against the government's policy regarding the role of foreign investment in Indonesia. Starting at the front of the Senen market, the demonstration led to a series of riots known as the
Malari incident. The riots attacked the visible Japanese presence in Indonesia such as an Astra dealership selling
Toyota-brand cars on Sudirman Street. Later the riots shifted to an anti-Chinese Indonesian
pogrom, attacking stores owned by ethnic Chinese, including the Senen shopping complex. ==Districts==