The Civic District I

The Buildings

This National Monument consist of 3 separate buildings: the Town Hall, the Memorial Hall and these 2 building are connected by a 54-metre clock tower.

The Town Hall

Around 1855 the Assembly Rooms (local dramas and operas were held) felt into a state of decrepitude. There was a need for a new town hall in Singapore. Thus, in 1855 the foundation stone for the Town Hall was laid and municipal engineer, John Bennett, designed the building in the common 19th century Palladian style. The building works were completed in 1862. This building was originally intended to house both a theatre (ground floor) and meeting rooms (second floor).

Eventually the Town Hall was home to a few government offices and had even served as the Singapore Library from 1862 to 1876. This building too was too small to cater to the administrative needs of the ever-growing population in Singapore, so by 1893 the offices moved out of the building.

The Memorial Hall

In 1901 Queen Victoria, Empress of India had passed away and the administrators of Singapore decided to build a Memorial Hall to commemorate the Queen. It was decided that the Town Hall will be incorporated into the degin of the Memorial Hall. So 40 years after the completion of the Town Hall, R. A. J. Bidwell of Swan & Maclaren undertook the task of commemorating an empress.

In 1905 the Town Hall evolved into Victoria Concert Hall and in 1909 the new Victoria Theatre was completed. Staying faithful to the Palladian architecture, the 2 exteriors were made homogenous. Governor Sir John Anderson declared the Victoria Memorial Hall opened in 1905. In the same event, the Town Hall was renamed into Victoria Theatre.

The Clock Tower

This connector was not completed until 1906 as there was a delay in the delivery of the clock and chimes by the donor, the Straits Trading Company.



A Place in History

The Victoria Memorial Hall has a special place in the history of Singapore. It is a wartime hero as it served as a hospital at the initial and late stages of World War II. In addition, it also saw the trails of Japanese war criminals after their surrender.

It also witnessed the political antecedents of our country for it was the centre for the briefing of Election officials and the counting of ballot papers for elections held since 1948. The People Action Party used the Hall for their inaugural meeting in 1954.

At the Moment...

In 1979, the buildings were renamed Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall and has become the home of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra.

National Monument Status

Under section 9 of the Preservation of Monuments Act this building was gazetted on 14 February 1992 as one of Singapore's National Monuments.



Trivia

Did you know that the Anderson Bridge is aligned with the axis of the clock in the Clock Tower?
Did you also know that the clock has a diameter of four metres and weighs one tonne?

Please click on the picture(s) to view the enlarged version(s)