Jubilee Hall

The two-story Jubilee Hall Gothic-style building was built in 1897 to celebrate the 60th-year reign of Queen Victoria ( her Diamond Jubilee). In its early days, it hosted events such as a meeting of British government officials to mark the opening of Yangon Zoo, as well as arts-and-crafts shows, talks, ordination ceremonies, wedding receptions for prominent figures of the town, and charity shows to raise funds to help Britain fight World War I. It was a gathering place for the powerful, educated, and wealthy elite. (Yan Aung, 2020) Just before the Independence in 1947, the fascist People’s Freedom League, led by Myanmar Independence hero General Aung San, drafted the country’s first constitution at the hall and read the 14 points of the Pinon Agreement. The same year, when General Aung San was assassinated in the secretariat (today Ministers’ Office), it became his funeral parlour, along with his cabinet ministers, lying in the hall for six months. After the Independence, Myanmar’s first national library and national museum were opened inside the Jubilee Hall. In 1952, the International Peace Congress was held in the hall. The site eventually became the centre of art and music. However, the National Library was moved to the city hall in 1968, and the museum was moved to Pansodan Street. Later, the hall continued to serve as a cultural place, hosting frequent cultural performances by the Culture Ministery and occasional literature talks and art exhibitions, and songs would often fill the surrounding air. The hall survived World War II but could not withstand the plans of the “ Burma Socialist Programme Party”, which detonated the building in 1985 because of its colonial legacy.

Key notion"When the party stopped" "After the Independence" Public mourning of national hero International peace conference, 1952 Cultural center of the 70s in Yangon