Sim Kwong Ho Shophouse I

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 Singapore. Somehow, the shophouses were symbolic of Singapore's colonial past - when Singapore was home not just to the British who established a trading port here, but also to countless numbers of Chinese immigrants from China who had made the journey down to Nanyang in their bid to make a living. Singapore also had a population of Straits Chinese, Indian immigrants and indigenous Malays. We thought that it was perhaps through the interactions and mixing of the diverse groups that had led to the unique design of Sim Kwong Ho Shophouse.

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