Siglap/East Coast Road HDB

These miserable 4 blocks of flats had been there since 1963 just to accommodate the resident in the Siglap Kampong due to a fire during the Chinese Lunar New Year in 1962.  Those flats had a view of the sea but soon they disappeared when reclamation was done. They made up of low rise, belong to owner-occupied and some rental flats, there are also various shop units consisting of assorted trades and now their fate are seal and waiting for demolition to begin

Club Street

In downtown Singapore Central Bussiness District, one such place to go to after a hard days work and for unwinding yourself and had a couple of drinks then the place to go to is Club Street around Ang Siang Hill. one building stood out in this enclave is Emerald Garden Condominium with an oriental chinese facade compare to some high-end condominium around the City Centre. Emerald Garden was built in 1998 with a 999 years lease and consist of 265 units 

Moon Cakes Festival

 

Our present National Library was built from the old site of the Empress Hotel (Huang Huo Jiu Lou) and famous for its mooncakes which the Chinese community all over the world celebrate is to remember Chang Er is the most widely accepted tale regarding the moon and the origin of the Mid Autumn Festival. In ancient times there are ten suns existed and very hard for the peoples with the extreme heat that is where Hou Yi shot down nine of the sun and eventually Chang Er and Hou Yi got married and lived happily after and the rest is history.

Its Time to say Goodbye

Dakota Crescent is one of the oldest public housing built under the Singapore Improvement Trust which is government-run Housing and Development Authority before the present the Housing and Development Board. These are low rise bricked flats and was built by the Colonial Government in 1958 it was named after an American Douglas DC3 which the British referred to as Dakota which was commonly spotted landing and taking off at the nearby  Kallang Airport, the christening of the estate's named Kallang Airport Estate also supposedly to commemorate the aviation disaster of an RAF Dakota aircraft which crashed while taking off during a thunderstorm which killed the entire flight crews and 20 RAF personnel. This year we are going to witness another disaster of the demolition of the said flats which had been selective En-bloc redevelopment scheme so before we say goodbye and had a last look at it. 

Bethesda (Katong) Church

 

It is a stone throw away from the place I am living now, it been there for around 80 years and located at the corner of Carpmael and Pennefather Road. The latter was named after the former Commissioner of Police Pennefather J.P. Evans. Recently they have added a new building next door and it is a walking distance and very near to the Peranakan Houses in Koon Seng Road. In the early 60s, you could just walk out after the services and had your meal right at their doorsteps with street hawker stalls along the roadside of Dunman Road minus the present-day Shell Petrol Kiosk.

Holy Family Church

When one mentioned Katong is mean foods and foods but to me growing up in these areas during the 50s and 60s where the Babas and Nyonya are known as Peranakan living amidst those pre-war houses with the beautiful facade, up till today they still draw a lot of admirers to those building among them are mostly photographers and tourist. Along East Coast Road is a church known as the Katong Catholic Church or Holy Family Church. It has its beginning in early 1900, started as a small chapel which was eventually demolished in 1931 while waiting for the new church masses was conducted in the nearby Roxy Theatre finally the church was completed 1932 due to the increase of catholic living in this area the church went through many renovations, in the end, the church had to be demolished again to make way for the new four-storey building with many amenities which finally completed in 1997.

Fook Tet Soo Temple

Fook Tet Soo temple is a Khek temple located around the former Palmer Road bus terminal and was built in the late 1800s when the Hakkas community who arrived erected a shrine to the deity Tua Pek Gong and it is considered the oldest temple in Singapore since the arrival of Sir Stamford Raffles in 1819. As it is facing the sea at that time it was also known as Wang Hai Tua Pek Gong Miao, the said temple characteristic closely resemble Teochew architectural from South China, Today the temple still attract devotees especially the birthday of the deities  Tua Pek Gong and Tai Shang Lao Chun their birthday which falls on the 16th day of the second month and the 1st day of the seven months although the entrance is been barricade to facilitate the construction of the  MRT station and with the completion of the new bus interchange.