Balestier

Single Storey Shophouses #601-639 Such Single-storey buildings were found in many parts of pre-1965 Singapore, especially in the suburban and rural areas. They were built by early developers for sale as shops and homes for new settlers from the rural areas who were told to leave their rural areas for urban developments. Though these shophouses were some of the earliest buildings to be constructed, the architects had seen the need to integrate some designs in the form of Art Deco pediment above the five-foot way to make it more aesthetically inclined. The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) has made conservation efforts to these buildings by prohibiting any alterations to these buildings. We have heard about the famous 'Tau Sar Piah' shop which was situated at one end of the stretch of shophouses. However we did not know that along that stretch alone, there were 4 Tau Sar Piah shops! Despite the choices of shops available, consumers still chose to flood the shop at ...

Wan Qing Yuan The location of the memorial hall is exactly where Dr. Sun Yat Sen resided and had his plans for the 1911 Chinese Revolution crafted with his team of revolutionaries. This was the HeadQuarters of the many branches of   同盟會 (Tong Meng Hui)    across South East Asia.  History of Wan Qing Yuan The Statue of Sun Yat Sen The visit to this place left the deepest impression in me (or us).  Our visit coincided with the celebration of the Mid-Autumn festival and it being a heritage site, the celebration was pretty grand and lively. However, we could hear ENGLISH contemporary music playing in the background the moment we stepped into the place.  It felt so uncomfortable and weird as the loud bases of the contemporary music did not fuse well at all with the overarching theme of the memorial hall -- which is to remember Sun Yat Sen who made a significant contribution on the Chinese Community in Singapore. As much as I (...

Maha Sasana Ramsi Burmese Buddhist Temple  At the entrance The temple was founded in 1878 and was originally located at Kintan Road off Serangoon Road.  It is the first and only Burmese Buddhist temple built outside of Burma (Myanmar) in the traditional style, appropriately adapted to local conditions.  In the main worship hall, there is an 11-foot high statue of Buddha, which was carved from a 10-tonne slab of marble found at Saygin Hill in Burma (Myanmaar). The statue was transported to Singapore and enshrined at the Kinta Road Temple in 1925. The temple only moved to its present location in 1991. Majestic and Grand appearance 11-foot high statue of Buddha, completed in 1918 To us, the Burmese connection of this temple (and the areas around) is the most interesting fact we found. Do you know that many side streets at the end of the Balestier Road are named after places in Burma? Such as Mandalay Road, Akyab Road, Bassein Road and Irrawaddy Road. ...

History From the outside, the Balestier Market looks just like any other hawker centre, boasting a variety of food choices and beverages. However, one must know that other than serving as a food centre in modern-day Singapore, the Balestier Market had its own humble beginning as a permanent place for local vendors to sell their produce back in the 1920s. Back then, the market was known to have been close to a dark timber bridge said to have spanned the Whampoa River, and it was popularly referred to as Or Kio , which means 'Black Bridge' in Hokkien. The original market was described in 1924 to have been "secluded but busy" and it was roofless then - a roof was added only later in 1925. It consisted of a row of small huts and also a pitched zinc roof, and was part of an attempt by local authorities to set up permanent market spaces in their bid to remove temporary hawkers who otherwise sold their goods and produce by the roadside. It was also to improve the ...

Sim Kwong Ho Shophouse, 230/246 With the eye-catching exterior and intricate designs, the Sim Kwong Ho Shophouse really caught our attention as we walked down Balestier Road. This row of shophouses was built in 1926 by female developer Madam Sim Cheng Neo, and the design of the shophouses is a blend of Western and Eastern cultures - which is also known as the "Singapore Eclectic".  Interestingly from hearsay, there used to be a dog centerpiece which has since gone missing. We wondered about its disappearance for quite a while, but out attention was soon captured by the elaborate carvings of mythical creatures, bats, flowers and birds on the walls of the shophouses as we wandered closer. As it turns out, bats used to be an ancient symbol of good fortune and have appeared in Chinese architecture for countless times.  The fusion of Chinese and Western architectural elements like the venetian arches and classic motifs really got us thinking about the history of...

After stopping by Balestier Market for lunch, we crossed over to the other side of Balestier Road in search of the Water Kiosk. And there it was, standing by the road, looking like it came straight out of one of those Chinese dramas which aired on Channel 8 and showcased Singapore in the 1900s. Located at the corner of Boon Teck Road just by the Balestier Road, it looked neglected and barely functional.  However, as one of us ventured to twist the taps, we realised that it was in fact still functioning, and people do still use the water kiosk. One of the taps dispenses tea, whereas the other dispenses clean drinking water. We suppose that this is symbolic of a time when clean drinking water was a luxury in Singapore. It also reminded us of how the main water sources in the past were likely rivers, streams and wells that were dug up painstakingly. Free water kiosks like this one must have been hard to come by in the past as well, and once can only imagine how thankful the lab...