City Hall, Singapore

City Hall
Location of City Hall in Singapore
Former names Municipal Building
General information
Status Occupied
Location Singapore
Address 3 St Andrew's Road, Singapore 178958
Country Singapore
Coordinates Coordinates: 1°17′26″N 103°51′06.5″E / 1.29056°N 103.851806°E / 1.29056; 103.851806
Construction started 1926
Completed 1929
Opened 23 July 1929
Renovated 1987, 2015
Cost 2 million Straits dollars
Affiliation National Heritage Board
Design and construction
Architect S. D. Meadows
Alexander Gordon
Other designers Cavaliere Rudolfo Nolli
Main contractor Perry and Co. (Overseas) Ltd
Renovating team
Awards and prizes Good Effort Award (1994)
Urban Redevelopment Authority
Designated 14 February 1992
Aerial view of the old Supreme Court building (foreground left), new Supreme Court building (middle) and City Hall (foreground right).

The City Hall (Malay: Dewan Bandaraya; Chinese: 政府大厦; Tamil: நகர மண்டபம்) in Singapore is a national monument gazetted on 14 February 1992. It can be found in front of historical Padang and adjacent to the Supreme Court of Singapore, it was designed and built by the architects of the municipal government, A. Gordans and F. D. Meadows from 1926 to 1929. A flight of stairs takes visitors from the Corinthian colonnade to the main building. The building was constructed to replace several houses designed by architect G.D. Coleman. It was first known as Municipal Building until 1951 when Singapore was granted city status by King George VI.

History

The Municipal Building was planned and designed by the municipal architect S. D. Meadows, and then by Alexander Gordon, who took over the position in 1925. The London construction firm Perry and Co. (Overseas) Ltd. began in 1926 and was completed in 1929. By April the municipality moved into its new home. The Governor Hugh Clifford then officially opened the new Municipal Building on 23 July 1929. During the World War II, when the Japanese occupied Singapore, they managed the civic issues from the Municipal Building but political affairs were already being conducted in the building. In 1943, leader of the Indian National Army, Subhas Chandra Bose, rallied for the Japanese support to let India to be independent from the British rule at the Municipal Building. British prisoners-of-war were rounded up in front of the building for a march to POW camps at Changi Prison and Selarang. On 12 September 1945, the Japanese General Itagaki surrendered to Lord Mountbatten in 1945 to end World War II in Singapore. In 1951, it was renamed to its present name City Hall as it was to mark Singapore as a city, after being granted city status.

During self-government, then Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew declared self-governance in Singapore in 1959, the playing of the new national anthem and the first time the people of Singapore saw the national flag as well as Singapore's independence from the Federation of Malaysia in 1965. In 1959, Lee and his eight cabinet minister were sworn into political office in the chamber of the City Hall before the first Yang di-Pertuan Negara, Yusof bin Ishak, whose oath was taken at the City Hall as well. Lee Kuan Yew read out the Malaysia Proclamation at the City Hall in 1963, and declared that Singapore was no longer under British rule. The people celebrated the first Malaysia Day at the Padang which is outside the City Hall. The first National Day Parade was held there in 1966 and subsequent years. The steps of the City Hall is use as a VIP seating area at National Day Parades held there.

Singapore has a unitary system of government. It has not had a mayor or a city council since the end of British rule. The ruling People's Action Party abolished the City Council and the Rural Board in 1959, and the role of the mayor disappeared. In place are the five Community Development Councils (namely Central Singapore, Northeast, Northwest, Southeast and Southwest), established in 1997. The CDCs are not elected bodies, rather each of them consists of 12 to 80 members appointed by the People's Association Chairman or Deputy Chairman. Each of the five CDCs is headed by a mayor.

In 1987, the building underwent a massive upgrade to allow the building to house governmental offices. In 1988, twelve courtrooms of the City Hall were transferred to the Supreme Court. This restoration work earned it a Good Effort Award in 1994 by the Urban Redevelopment Authority. The City Hall was later the place where Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong had his inauguration ceremony and the swearing-in of the cabinet. The building was used for many government events over the years, it was used as a venue for the Singapore Biennale, and also for the IMF and World Bank Meetings when it was held in Singapore as a registration centre.

In 2015, The City Hall, together with the adjacent Old Supreme Court Building, has been converted into the National Gallery Singapore.

See also

References

  • National Heritage Board (2002), Singapore's 100 Historic Places, Archipelago Press, ISBN 981-4068-23-3
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