Two cinemas, built in the first half of last century on Wolferstan Road, show the fortunes and ambitiousness of the time. In 1931 Capitol Theatre opened at the top of the road, boasting “the best sound production in Malaya”, with seating for 1,000. It was built by a great-grandson of esteemed Malaccan Tan Kim Seng, costing 100,000 Straits Dollars. Before that, the sons of another eminent Malaccan built Chan Koon Cheng Hall at 50 Wolferstan Road, in honour of their father, Chan Koon Cheng. As with Tan Kim Seng, Chan could trace his lineage in Malacca back many generations; his ancestor had arrived from China in 1671, and Chan himself made a huge fortune as a rubber and tapioca planter. At its opening in 1919 the Hall (“Aglows Theatre Hall”) screened Charlie Chaplin’s silent movie “Shoulder Arms” to a rapt audience. It seated 800, had a most  sophisticated lighting system, and in 1930, renamed the “Rialto”, was the first in Malacca to screen a “talkie”. In 1938 it became the Savoy.

Other sorts of entertainment included amusement parks which featured Chinese opera, vaudeville, bangsawan and dance halls. The cinemas such as Capitol, the Savoy and Lido hosted bangsawan shows too.(Marah? Tidaaaakkk!)  As a boy, Baba bin Ahmad from Kampung Tiga watched bangsawan shows in Kampung Jawa. He grew up to be a star, travelling throughout the Nusantara (and performing in Bunga Raya). 

Both Capitol and the Savoy continued to entertain crowds until cinema’s popularity waned. Meantime the hawkers and food stalls which had sprung up around them, providing suppers or pre-show dinners, became identified with those cinemas, even after they moved elsewhere, for instance Capitol Satay Chelop (now at Lorong Bukit Cina) and Capitol Nasi Lemak @ Ah Ho Nasi Lemak (now operating in Bachang). As an undercurrent tol the commercial and trading activities in Bunga Raya, Jalan Bendahara and other busy areas were Melaka’s triad activities, as described by Taiko (Gangs of Melaka). 

At the end of the road, continuing to Jalan Temenggung, is a community of Indian businesses, sometimes known as “Little India”, selling clothing, foods, household goods, prayer equipment and flowers(The Florist, Bendahara Bread and Buns).