This hall was the furthest a young lady (nyonya) could go out of the household unaccompanied. The screen door protected precious daughters from being seen from the street. If the ladies wanted to look out, they would need to peek through the slits in the screen to catch a glimpse of what was happening!
Hand painted lanterns were placed outside each of the houses. They were a way for families to advertise who the house belonged to, and the names of their business.
The left lantern reads the family business name Swee Hin. The right is the Chan family surname.
Before electricity came to the street in the 1920s, lanterns would have been lit by candle.
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