Jalan Tun Perak, along with Jalan Ampang, is one of the oldest roads in Kuala Lumpur. It was originally named Java Street, and was initially settled by Malays and other people from Java and Sumatra, hence the name of this street and the nearby Malay Street (Jalan Melayu). It formed the boundary between Chinese and Malay areas in early Kuala Lumpur.^[1] A Boyanese community centre was once located on the street and Kampung Rawa was located to its north.^[2] Indian Chettiars and Indian Muslims also settled in the area. A Malay cemetery was located close by and on which Jamek Mosque, one of the oldest mosques in Kuala Lumpur, was then built in 1909. Java Street was later renamed Mountbatten Road, and later still Jalan Tun Perak.^[2]

By the beginning of the 20th century, the road had developed into a busy commercial street for local businesses but also what was described as "the slum of slums of our local paradise".^[1] However, as it was located near the hub of colonial activities (the church, cricket ground, courthouses and government offices), the area soon developed into the favoured location for siting many well-known stores of the time, such as Robinson's (opened in 1928), John Little (1914, along New Embankment Road and Ampang Street), and Whiteaway Laidlaw.^[1][3]

By the 1970s, the street had declined in popularity as a shopping area; many stores closed and were replaced by financial institutions. The Robinson's department store was acquired by United Asian Bank in 1976, and the building was demolished to make way for the bank's headquarters (now called Menara UAB) which was completed in 1984.^[4] Another bank building is now the most prominent building on Jalan Tun Perak – the Maybank Tower which is located at the end of the street where it meets Jalan Pudu. The tower was built in 1987 on the location of the colonial-era Subordinate Courts building at Bukit Mahkamah which was demolished in 1982.^[5]

Opposite Menara UAB is a Mughal-style building by British architect and soldier A. B. Hubback (who also designed the Jamek Mosque next to it) constructed in 1910 and once housed the Federated Malay States Survey Office.^[6] It was later used as the Sessions & Magistrates Courts, and was also occupied by the Department of Information (Jabatan Penerangan) Malaysia after the courts moved out. Another surviving building from the early period is the Gian Singh Building at the corner of Lebuh Ampang built in 1909.^[7] At the junction with Malacca Street (Jalan Melaka) is a five-storey Art Deco-style Oriental Building built in 1932, which at that time was the tallest building in Kuala Lumpur, and it once housed Radio Malaya.^[8]

In 1996, the elevated track of the Ampang line of the light rapid transit (LRT) system was constructed along the entire stretch of Jalan Tun Perak. A station was also constructed with an elevated platform over the bridge at Klang River beside Masjid Jamek after which the station is named – Masjid Jamek LRT Station. ^[9] The underground Masjid Jamek station, part of the PUTRA LRT line, opened in 1999, and became an interchange with the Ampang Line. The station occupies the location of the former Whiteaway Laidlaw department store.

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  Menara UAB - Former Bumiputra-Commerce Bank headquarter
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  Maybank Tower
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  Masjid Jamek LRT Station entrance on Jalan Tun Perak
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  Masjid Jamek, side view from Jalan Benteng across the Klang River
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  Oriental Building
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  The former Federated Malay States Survey Office