The Kuching Old Courthouse, built in 1874 and completed in stages through 1883, is one of the finest examples of colonial architecture in Sarawak. The building now houses a tourism complex, restaurant, and commercial tenants; the historical structure — the colonnaded façade, the clock tower, the covered walkway — has been carefully maintained. The Brooke Memorial in front commemorates Charles Brooke, the second White Rajah, and provides a useful orientation point on the waterfront.
The courthouse sits at the western end of the waterfront esplanade, making it a natural start or end point for a waterfront walk. The square tower visible from the river, just east of the courthouse, was the original defensive structure of the early Brooke settlement. The whole complex — courthouse, tower, memorial, and the view across the river to Fort Margherita — gives the strongest sense of how the Brooke capital was organised.