Dalhousie Obelisk
November 2019
The Dalhousie Obelisk commemorates the visit of then governor-general of India (1848–1856), the Marquis of Dalhousie, James Andrew Broun-Ramsay, to Singapore between 17 and 19 February 1850. Singapore, as part of the Straits Settlements, was administered under the Bengal government of British India at the time of his visit. The monument, erected by 1851, was the first public statue in Singapore. It was a symbol of the mercantile community’s hope that his visit would benefit local commercial interests, especially pertaining to the establishment of free trade in Singapore.
Cavenagh Bridge
November 2019
Cavenagh Bridge is named after William Orfeur Cavenagh, the last governor of the Straits Settlements (1859–67) under British India control. The bridge, completed in 1869, is the oldest bridge across the Singapore River. It was the last major work of the Indian convicts and now serves as a footbridge.
January 2020
January 2020
Sir Harry Ord, the governor at the time, wanted to name it Edinburgh Bridge after the Duke of Edinburgh’s visit to Singapore. That did not happen as Singapore councilors decided it should honour the name of the last Governor appointed to Singapore by the East India Company, Sir Orfeur Cavenagh.
August 2020
Anderson Bridge
It was named after John Anderson, governor of the Straits Settlements and high commissioner for the Federated Malay States (1904–11), who officially opened the bridge on 12 March 1910.
View of the rear of the Fullerton Hotel with Anderson Bridge on the right
March 2020 - view from Esplanade Drive
The history of its construction can be traced to 1901 when the Singapore River Commission proposed building a new bridge as a potential solution to the inadequacies of the existing Cavenagh Bridge. In use since 1869, Cavenagh Bridge could no longer accommodate the growing vehicular and pedestrian traffic that came with the town’s rapid development. Moreover, the bridge was designed without the appropriate height allowance that would have enabled vessels to pass under it at high tide.
August 2020
In 1904, the government of the Straits Settlements tasked the municipality to prepare the plans and estimates for a new bridge to be erected over the mouth of the Singapore River instead of enlarging or reconstructing Cavenagh Bridge.
August 2020 - View from Fullerton Road
Anderson Bridge was once a terrible place to pass. Look carefully at the steel columns of the bridge when you walk pass. It was where the heads of beheaded spies would be hung by the Japanese forces during the Japanese Occupation.
Read more at https://www.todayonline.com/entertainment/arts/7-historical-facts-you-might-not-know-about-civic-district
Fort Fullerton
Fort Fullerton was one of the earliest forts built in Singapore, predating even Fort Canning. It was located at the mouth of the Singapore River and constructed with the aim of protecting the ships in the harbour. The fort was subsequently demolished and replaced by the Post Office in 1882, the headquarters of the Singapore Volunteer Artillery in 1891 and Fullerton Building in 1928. Today, the Fullerton Hotel stands on its site.
Plan Of Singapore Town And Adjoining Districts, 1846
Soon after Stamford Raffles signed the treaty that secured Singapore as a trading post for the British East India Company on 6 February 1819, he instructed the then Resident, William Farquhar, to establish “one or two strong batteries” along the coast “in the vicinity of the Settlement”. In addition, Farquhar had to establish a redoubt (fort) at Sandy Point “for the protection of the shipping”. Sandy Point referred to a spit of land at the entrance of the Kallang Basin. At the time, the Settlement of Singapore consisted of only a small area in the vicinity of the Singapore River and not the entire island.
The Singapore Merlion where Fort Fullerton used to be located, December 2018
A year after the British landed on Singapore, there was only a small fortification built at the mouth of the Singapore River, approximately on the site of what was to become Fort Fullerton. In an 1825 map of Singapore, this location was labelled Rocky Point, also known as Artillery Point and Battery Point.
It is believed that Fort Fullerton was located near this site but it is unclear in which year the fort was built. Some sources say that Fort Fullerton was built in 1825, while others put it as 1829. An 1827 report on the fortifications of Singapore made no mention of Fort Fullerton, but noted a crumbling earth fieldwork, identified as possibly being Battery Point. Hence, it was likely that the first governor of the Straits Settlements, Robert Fullerton, started work on building the fort during his stint as governor (1826–1830). The fort was named in his honour.
Fullerton Building
November 2019
The former Fullerton Building was one of the most important landmarks in the Civic District. It sits partially on the site of the former Fort Fullerton. After Fort Fullerton was demolished, the site was occupied by the Post Office and the Exchange Building until around 1922, when both buildings were demolished to make way for the Fullerton Building, which was completed in mid-1928.
January 2020
The building housed the General Post Office and, over the years, other government offices including the Inland Revenue Department. Other tenants included the Chamber of Commerce and the Singapore Club. During World War II, the building was the headquarters of the Japanese Military Administration Department. Following a S$400-million restoration project lasting two years, the building is presently The Fullerton Hotel Singapore.
August 2020
Fullerton Square
Named in honour of Robert Fullerton, the first governor of the Straits Settlements(1826–30).
Fort Fullerton used to stand on the site that is known today as Fullerton Square. The fort with the Artillery Barracks, a house for officers and barracks for soldiers was built in 1829 to defend the town of Singapore located at the mouth of the Singapore River. On Battery Point, where Fort Fullerton stood, 68-pounder guns guarded the river entrance. In 1859, the fort was enlarged nearly three times its original size at a cost of $840,000. The fort was demolished on 11 June 1873. In 1879, the Exchange Building was established on the same spot where the fort once stood, before being replaced by Fullerton Building in 1928.
In 1882, a Victorian-style fountain was installed in Fullerton Square to commemorate influential merchant Tan Kim Seng for his contributions to the city’s waterworks. When the fountain was moved to the Esplanade in 1925, the space became a carpark that served as the venue for many yesteryear election rallies.
August 2020
Important buildings were soon erected around the square. Flint’s Building, which belonged to the prominent Flint family, was once located at the corner of Battery Road and Fullerton Square, where A. L. Johnston & Co. originally stood. One notable Flint family member was Captain William Flint, brother-in-law of Stamford Raffles.
The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation acquired the site at the junction of Collyer Quay and Fullerton Square in 1890, and erected their first building there in 1892. It was demolished and replaced in 1925 by a new building. This second building was demolished to make way for the present building completed in 1982.
Empress Place Building (Asian Civilisations Museum)
November 2019
The former Empress Place Building is one of the architectural treasures in the Empress Place civic area overlooking the Singapore River. It was completed in 1867 and had originally been planned to be used as a courthouse but instead functioned as government offices until the late 1980s. Subsequent restorations and extensions have stayed faithful to the original neoclassical Palladian architectural style. Gazetted as a national monument on 14 February 1992, it is now known as the Asian Civilisations Museum (ACM).
August 2020
Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall
Victoria Theatre began its life as the Town Hall. Designed by Colonial Engineer John Bennett, the Town Hall was constructed between 1855 and 1862 with funds set aside by the British Administration and from public donations. The Municipal Commissioners managed the two-storey building; municipal offices were located on the ground floor and a social hall on the upper. The Town Hall effectively replaced the Assembly Rooms, an attap-roofed structure that housed a small theatre and provided a space for public gatherings, previously situated on the site of the Former Hill Street Police Station.
November 2019
Victoria Memorial Hall (now known as Victoria Concert Hall) was built next to the Town Hall between 1903 and 1905 in memory of Queen Victoria who passed away on 22 January 1901. Regent A. J. Bidwell from the well-known architectural firm Swan & Maclaren designed the Memorial Hall. Governor of Straits Settlements Sir Frank A. Swettenham called for contributions to the building project, and the public responded generously – subscriptions came up to 129,000 Straits dollars. On top of that, the British Administration and Municipality in Singapore each gave 100,000 Straits dollars. The foundation stone was laid during the auspicious occasion of King Edward VII’s coronation celebration on 10 August 1902.
On 18 October 1905, Victoria Memorial Hall was declared open by Governor of the Straits Settlements Sir John Anderson, who succeeded Sir Swettenham. The elegant building had electric fans that cooled the interior, making it possible for a large crowd to meet in comparative comfort.
August 2020 - View at Sunset
Connecting the Town Hall and Victoria Memorial Hall is a 54-metre-high clock tower, also completed in 1905. It was only a year later that the clock faces received their timepieces and peal of bells, which were donated by Straits Trading Company. The Duchess of Connaught, Princess Louise Margaret of Prussia, ceremoniously set the clock in motion on 1 February 1907. In the past, a clock winder was employed to regularly wind and maintain the clock’s mechanism.
After the completion of Victoria Memorial Hall, it was decided that the Town Hall ought to be remodelled into a proper theatre, and at the same time to replicate the former’s charming façade. Renovation works were executed by Swan & Maclaren according to the plans prepared by Bidwell. Victoria Theatre greeted the world on 11 February 1909.
Lim Loh (林路; 1852 – 1929), also known as Lim Chee Gee (林志义), 林露, or 林云龙, was born in Nan’an County in Fujian Province, China. He arrived at Penang in 1880 and moved to Singapore a few months later. He was a pioneer building contractor who built several well-known buildings like the Victoria Memorial Hall, Old Parliament House, Goodwood Park Hotel and Hong San See Temple. Besides being in the trading and construction businesses, he also owned a rubber plantation that was then bounded by Braddell, Woskel and Upper Serangoon roads; two brick factories and a biscuit factory around Braddell Heights. He had six wives, 19 sons, 10 of whom were adopted, and nine daughters. War hero Lim Bo Seng was his 11th son and first born. Lim Loh passed away at 77 on 11 December 1929.
Statue of Stamford Raffles
November 2019
The statue of Stamford Raffles, sculpted by Thomas Woolner, depicts Raffles, standing tall, arms folded, with an aura of quiet assurance. It was installed on Jubilee Day on 27 June 1887 at the Padang, and relocated to Empress Place during Singapore’s centenary celebrations on 6 February 1919.
Old Parliament House
The oldest structure in Empress Place, and quite possibly the oldest surviving building in Singapore, is what is known today as Old Parliament House. This venerable building was originally a two-storey private residence built for Scottish merchant, John Argyle Maxwell, in 1827. Designed by G D Coleman, Maxwell House (as the residence was known) was never once used as a house as Mr Maxwell's business were primarily in Java rather than in Singapore and he never took up residence.
Due to an administrative oversight, Maxwell’s house became possibly the only home in an area designated for government buildings, based on the 1822 Raffles Town Plan.
January 2020
Instead, the house was rented by the colonial administration in 1827 and used as the Courthouse. It was sold to George Gerald Larpent and John Cockrell on 1 September 1829. Additions were made to the building in 1839, including a single-storey extension that served as the new courthouse, while the front portion was occupied by public offices. In 1841, the East India Company purchased the building for 15,600 Spanish dollars.
Subsequently it was used as Government Offices for much of Singapore's colonial era, becoming the seat of its Legislative Assembly (1955-1965), and later on, the House of Parliament when the territory become an independent republic in 1965.
Sources: Singapore 1819: A living legacy by Kennie Ting, pg. 49
https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/INFOPEDIA/articles/SIP_836_2005-01-06.html
January 2020
After a series of major alterations and additions, possibly only the arches inside the porch are all that remain of the original building.
January 2020
August 2020
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