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The word, Mayol, prominently emblazoned over the boudoir-red exterior of the building, probably cashes in on the fame of the musical hall star Felix Mayol. Speculation suggests it was a cinema and the almost deserted area hints at the decline of French cinema in the late 1950s. A café on the right, also seemingly french, lies in wait of cinema audiences.

Chia Yu Chian was in Paris for studies from 1959 to 1962, where he had a studio at 20, Rue du Sommerard in the Latin Quarters and then 28, Rue de la Charbonnere in Montmarte. His works typify the School of Paris style that included Fauvism, Cubism and Orphism.

Born in Johor, Chia Yu Chian graduated from Nanyang Academy Fine Arts, Singapore in 1958. He was the first artist from Straits Settlement to receive a French Government scholarship at Ecole Nationale des Beaux Arts in Paris (1959-1962). He was commissioned to do a mural painting Life in Malaysia for Malaysian High Commission in Paris. Yu Chian received the awards of Honourable Mention, Salon des Independent and Societe des Artistes Francaise, Paris.