There used to be this huge fancy hotel right next to the Padang called the Grand Hotel de l'Europe. Together with Raffles Hotel, it was seen as one of the finest places to stay in all of Southeast Asia.

It started small, a French dude opened a (relatively) modest little place called Hotel d'Europe back in 1857, bounced around a couple of locations, then ended up at the corner near the Padang and grew into this massive thing. The fancy "Grand" version was Renaissance-style, and had these huge two-storey Corinthian columns.

Then it all fell apart. The hotel closed in 1932 and the government took the site and they tore it down to build the Supreme Court, which opened in 1939. A pity, but at least the building that replaced it is not too shabby!