Reliving the Civic District’s charming heritage just got easier

SINGAPORE — When the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) announced in December that roads in the Civic and Central Business Districts would be closed on the last Sunday of the month for six months starting this Sunday, Singaporeans from all walks (no pun intended) of life cheered.

Such a day is the cherry on top of the Civic District pie, which has seen a flurry of improvements and openings in the last couple of years — from Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall’s reopening in 2014, to the recent S$66 million reconstruction of the area to be more pedestrian-friendly.

We also welcomed National Gallery Singapore, launched the 8km Jubilee Walk and got a new stepped plaza and benches with mobile phone charging points in front of the Asian Civilisations Museum so we can proudly Snapchat and Instagram the spruced up surrounds without running out of juice.

HISTORICAL CHARM

“Our intention is to strengthen the identity and attractiveness of the Civic District as an integrated arts, cultural and lifestyle precinct for Singapore,” explained Andrew David Fassam, senior director, Urban Design, URA. And this identity started taking shape as early as June 1819. Sir Stamford Raffles had already planned to have this area, located along the north bank of the Singapore River, reserved for public purpose. The Jackson Plan of 1822 cemented it as a European Town where the homes built here made way for later buildings such as the Grand Hotel de l’Europe, which were then demolished for City Hall and the Supreme Court. Other buildings in the district share a similarly interesting history: Victoria Theatre was first constructed as the Town Hall in 1862 while the Arts House — Singapore’s oldest government building by the way — was originally the home of a Scottish merchant and the British government had to pay a rent of 500 rupees a month for its use.

Scenes of World War II, the anti-colonialism movement and nation-building later played out vividly here. It saw the formal acceptance of the surrender of Japanese forces by Lord Louis Mountbatten on the steps of City Hall; the founding of the People’s Action Party at the Victoria Concert Hall; Singapore’s first Chief Minister David Marshall’s office in the Assembly House, now the Arts House; the installation of Yusof bin Ishak as Singapore’s first Malayan-born Head of State; the fiery political rallies held at Fullerton Square and our first National Parade on the Padang.

CIVIL LIBERTIES

The civic district was equally significant for ordinary Singaporeans. Courting couples met under the famed five Angsana trees at Esplanade Park popularly known as “gor zhang chiu kar” in Hokkien and ate suppers at the Satay Club. Others took their wedding portraits at Cavenagh Bridge; while families, friends and crowds gathered here for special events — such as the first glimpse of television as TV sets were placed outside the-then Victoria Memorial Hall and at Queen Elizabeth Walk for the launch of the country’s first television station Television Singapura in 1963. We most recently thronged the area for Art Carnival as part of National Gallery Singapore’s grand opening weekend.

In a way, the launch of car-free Sunday could be a chance to rekindle that bygone romance and encourage a more active weekend in the district. Even those five “gor zhang chiu kar” have been transplanted back at Esplanade Park last November by the URA and National Parks. As for the “active” part, you’ve got the Health Promotion Board and SportSG also coming on board for the initiative.

Stakeholders in the area are quietly optimistic about car-free Sundays and are taking the opportunity to roll out new initiatives. “This being the first ever car-free Sunday, we’re excited to see how it pans out. The best thing is that it will entice people to visit an area that, despite being beautiful and in the heart of the city, doesn’t typically see visitors on weekends,” said restaurateur Loh Lik Peng, one of the partners at Gallery & Co, the multi-label retail store and cafe of National Gallery Singapore. Well, if it does pour, you can take shelter at Gallery & Co, which is launching a new item on its menu this weekend too — a beef brisket and kimchi burger developed in collaboration with smoked meats house MeatSmith. National Gallery itself will be welcoming visitors an hour earlier at 9am, opening the car park for bicycle valet services for the first time and having additional building highlights tours covering the Gallery’s external facade revealed its chief executive officer Chong Siak Ching.

The Fullerton Heritage group has created three new activities to mark the occasion: A special heritage breakfast of kaya toast and kopi offered at Post Bar at Fullerton Hotel; the Fullerton Monument Tour taking visitors through the Fullerton Building with exclusive access to preserved areas that includes the heritage breakfast, as well as a morning spa session at Fullerton Spa at a special rate. The Fullerton Tour is proving to be rather popular with already half of the 20 slots taken up and the hotels expect more visitors to walk in on Sunday itself. “The Car-free Sunday initiative for the Civic District is an important initiative given that much transformation continues to take place in this district,” said Giovanni Viterale, general manager of The Fullerton Heritage. “It presents a unique opportunity for local residents and international visitors alike to explore and learn more about our history and heritage.”

So how about reliving a little bit of that heritage and history tomorrow then?

(click to enlarge)