Atkinson Clock Tower

The Atkinson Clock Tower stands on a low hill above the Padang, a white wooden structure that is the oldest surviving building in the city. It was erected in 1902 as a memorial to the young colonial officer who founded Jesselton — Kota Kinabalu's former name — and who died of malaria before seeing the town he had helped establish take shape.

The tower is a short walk from the waterfront and requires no more than ten minutes to visit, but it offers a good vantage point over the bay. The area around it has been turned into a small park. Worth combining with the nearby Signal Hill Observatory Platform, which sits on the same ridge and gives wider views across the islands.

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A story
The tower was built in 1902 by Mary Edith Atkinson in memory of her son Francis George Atkinson, the first district officer of Jesselton, who died of malaria aged just 28. It is the oldest standing structure in Kota Kinabalu, having survived the Allied bombing raids of World War II that destroyed most of the rest of the colonial town.