After the Dutch relinquished sovereignty the Indonesian army as well as the Department of Transportation used the complex before it was returned to the Indonesian Railway Company. By then it was in a state unfit for use as a head office. The buildings stood empty for decades, in the 1970-ies. Unfortunately we do not have any pics of that time. It is said that a daughter of dictator Suharto intended to convert Gedung Lawang Sewu into a hotel, but these plans came to nothing because of Suharto's fall from power.
The decaying buildings attracted lots of tourists, domestic and foreign. For a small entrance fee one could roam through them from cellar to loft. Not surprising considering its history, Gedung Lawang Sewu is believed to be haunted. Adventurous youngsters dared each other to stay a night in the basement. One could even buy blurred photo's of the “ghosts”. In 2007 an Indonesian horror movie was shot on the site.
But there is good news in the end. By 2009 the Railway Company with support of the provincial government had developed a master plan for restoring and utilizing Gedung Lawang Sewu. Our photo's from June 2009 show the street-facing walls newly whitewashed - that was all the work having been done at the time. Three years later two of the four units in the compound have been fully restored.
The main L-shaped building “A” - the first one to be constructed from 1904 until 1907, that determines the status as landmark - had its leaking roof thoroughly repaired. Cracked tiles of ancient Dutch manufacture have been replaced by locally produced replicas. Missing doors have been replaced, electric lighting been refitted, and so on.... The two towers stand shining white again, but have not been put to their original purpose; they hold big water containers that used to provide running water to the building.
Building “A” is now closed to the public, awaiting to be put to good use: library, commercial exhibition centre, railway museum. A smaller building “C” at the back has also been restored. It houses a display on the restoration work and the office of the site manager.
At present an inventory is under way on the work that needs to be done on the I-shaped building “B”, which was added from 1916 to 1918. For one thing, its basement is flooded due to seeping ground water.
