On the northern coast of Malaysia's Penang state capital of Georgetown, there lies a strip where English settlers first built their bungalows and later Chinese tycoons built their castle.
Like homes, some are abandoned and crumbling, while others have been swallowed by developments that verge on architectural terrorists.
You're listening to Tall Stories, a monocle production brought to you by the team behind the Urbanist Imagine Tuck.
In this episode, Thomas Pineiro discusses the history of this still prestigious street and assesses some of the new developments that continue to devour the heritage buildings.
Beneath the jumble of modern adze LED signs and air conditioning units, the historical core of Penance Georgetown remains mostly untouched.
The air is thick with the scent of curries and incense, the call to prayer echoes five times a day, and Chinese calligraphy covers the facades of endless rows of shop houses.
Walking through their arched passageways really feels like stepping back in time.
The city's rich history as a multicultural trading port, along with its well preserved authenticity, led to its recognition as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2008, a status shared only with Malacca among the former Strait settlements of British Malaya, but not Singapore, whose historic core was largely demolished during its boom years.
In Georgetown, around 4, 000 historic buildings are preserved spanning both the core protected area and its buffer zone.
The latter functions as an added layer of protection to maintain the visual context of the historical landscape.
Just beyond the buffer zone following the coastline lies Northern Road, known as Millionaires Road.
It was here that affluent European settlers built their bungalows in the 19th century.
At the edge of the road is the old Protestant cemetery, as old as the city itself, serving as the final resting place for many of them.
Their gravestones lie beneath a canopy of frangipani trees with epithets that quietly reveal most met their end in their youth.
Between the ages of 18 and 30, overcome by long sea voyages and the harsh realities of life near the equator.
Around the turn of the century, most Europeans moved inland, paving the way for Chinese tycoons to take their place.
It was their presence that ultimately gave the road its moniker.
Their homes were grand displays of opulence, whitewashed in European style, with expansive front lawns and circular driveways.
The first of these was Soonstead Mansion, built in the style of a French chateau just a few doors down.
Woodview of Old Mansion followed suit, but with the addition of a dome top tower and a tennis court on the front lawn.