During the early years of
British rule, British officers and other Europeans were buried within the
Old Protestant Cemetery. These included Captain
Francis Light, who founded
Penang in 1786 and died in 1794. At the time, Northam Road had yet to come into existence and the area was simply known as the 'North Beach'. Throughout the 19th century, Northam Road evolved into the suburban area of choice for wealthy Europeans, who began building bungalows along the road. The Europeans later moved out of Northam Road for greener, leafy neighbourhoods further inland, leaving the bungalows along the road to be snapped up by Chinese businessmen, who in turn constructed more elegant bungalows along the road. Many of the wealthy Chinese who resided along Northam Road, such as
Yeap Chor Ee,
Loh Boon Siew and
Lim Lean Teng, also chose European names for their residences, reflecting the upper-class preferences for all things European. In 1980, Northam Court, a 16-storey luxurious condominium project under construction was demolished just before completion when it began tilting and was at risk of collapse. Since the 1990s, the completion of commercial skyscrapers along Northam Road has turned the coastal thoroughfare into a significant part of
the city's Central Business District. The construction of these skyscrapers have been made possible as the road technically lies outside the city's
UNESCO World Heritage Site. == Landmarks ==