Blast To The Past

There are several historical places in Singapore which may have been forgotten by many as they are not frequently mentioned or visited. We may have walked past or visited some of these places but know nothing of it. Here are some of the places we identified.

Written By: Boh Ke Yng
Pictures By: The Catch Team

Central Fire Station Singapore

Being the oldest surviving fire station in Singapore, Central Fire Station was completed back in 1909 and has served as a museum since 2001. It currently houses the Civil Defence Heritage Gallery which is also the official museum of the Singapore Civil Defence Force. The museum showcases the history of firefighting in Singapore from the 19th century up till today. At your visit, you get to learn about the civil defence’s progression in Singapore throughout the years. There are displays of antique fire engines as well as other fire fighting equipment. Apart from that, there are also customised interactive stations if you would like to have a close-up experience of what firefighters and rescuers go through during a mission. End off your visit with tours up the hose tower of the Central Fire Station, which was Singapore’s highest point back in the 1920s.

Old Hill Street Police Station

The Old Hill Street Police Station, the first jail in Singapore, was also a space for public functions as well as a building which housed a theatre and a school back in the 80s. The Singapore Police Force built several police stations after the reorganisation in the 90s to deal with the overwhelming increase in the Chinese secret society activities. The police station was also used by the Japanese army as a holding area and torture chambers during the Japanese Occupation, but was reverted back as a police station after the war. Today, the Old Hill Police Station is being used by the Ministry of Communications and Information, Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth and was gazetted as a national monument back in 18 December 1998.

Thian Hock Kheng Temple

A living-monument and architectural masterpiece in Singapore, Thian Hock Keng Temple is also an important stakeholder in Singapore's history from the 1800s. Chinese immigrants would visit the temple to give thanks to Mazu, also known as the Goddess of the Seas for their safe voyage. It is one of the oldest and most important Hokkien temples in Singapore. Something special about this temple is the fact that the entire structure was assembled without nails. Thian Hock Keng is an architectural masterpiece of stone, tiles and wood, carvings of dragons and phoenixes managed by Singapore Hokkien Huay Kuan. 

The temple was gazetted as a national monument in 1973 and over the last few decades, to restore and repair works of the monument, Singapore Hokkien Huay Kuan has funded over $6.5 million. The restoration project has also won 4 architectural awards, including the most prestigious award from UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage 2001 Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation Building. 

Singapore Peranakan Museum

Housed in the Old Tao Nan School building at Armenian Street, the museum specialises in Peranakan culture and is the first of its kind where it allows visitors to explore Peranakan cultures in Singapore. It was originally the Asian Civilisations Museum, but was closed in 2006 for a major revamp. It was during the revamp where the museum management decided to showcase Peranakan culture at a children’s museum. This enabled the museum to house the world's most distinctive and comprehensive Peranakan museum collection of artefacts and wares, with a potential annual visitorship number of 112,000 people. On 25 April 2008, the museum officially opened with ten permanent galleries showcasing main themes of Peranakan life. The Peranakan Museum is then closed for another revamp work on 1 April 2019, expected to be done by the end of 2020. Do pay the museum a visit when it reopens!