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Final Open House at Tanjong Pagar Railway Station

SINGAPORE ­­- The final Open House at the Tanjong Pagar Railway Station will be a poignant Christmas Day celebration for fans of the building’s architecture, history and pure nostalgic value.

SINGAPORE ­­- The final Open House at the Tanjong Pagar Railway Station will be a poignant Christmas Day celebration for fans of the building’s architecture, history and pure nostalgic value.

Built in 1929, the station was gazetted as a national monument in 2011. Since then, it has been a popular film set for productions such as the Mediacorp TV Channel 5 period drama Fighting Spiders and Channel 8’s The Dream Makers 2. It has also hosted art events such as an exhibition by photographer Annie Leibovitz. And, on every public holiday since Feb 20, 2015, it has played host to Open Houses organised by the Singapore Land Authority (SLA).

“This national monument, with its rich history and heritage value, has seen strong interest from the public, and we are pleased to have welcomed over 150,000 visitors to date at the Open Houses held over the past two years,” said SLA’s chief executive Tan Boon Khai. At the Thai Fantastic market held on Hari Raya Haji this year, he added, “We achieved a record of 52,546 visitors on a single day.”

The Open House on Sunday will be the last before the station closes for construction work. When it reopens, it will be part of the Cantonment Station on the Circle Line extension, due to be completed in 2025.

Freelance private chef Jan Lee plans to visit the Open House because “it’s a lovely, nostalgic place to hold a Christmas event”. The 32-year-old added: “Truth be told, Singapore is a pretty sanitised place. Having a building left in its original state is rather rare. Even though the railway station isn’t used for its original purpose, holding community events there is a great use of the space. I expect the atmosphere will be cozy and fun.”

Teacher Laremy Lee will also be spending his Christmas at the Open House because “I was arm-twisted into accompanying my girlfriend,” he quipped.

“She’s never gone to the railway station before, so I’m happy to go with her. I like the architecture and the ambience of the railway station and I thought this would be a good chance to revisit it – I went there on a field trip with my students last year. Before that, the last and only time I had been to the railway station was in 2005, for a trip to Malaysia.”

The 33-year-old added: “I value history and heritage, and I’m glad that parts of the station will be conserved and integrated with the upcoming Cantonment station. In Singapore, it’s always hard to find a trade-off between conservation and progress because of our scarce land area, and I’m happy we’ve struck a balance here.”

At the event, which features a market and live music, you will have the opportunity to shop for Christmas goodies and food and beverage items. Look out for specialty coffee; handmade skincare products such as pandan scrubs; homegrown accessories labels; and rainbow macarons.

If you have kids – or are young at heart ­– you can ride a Choo Choo Train around the national monument. From 5pm, there will be Christmas carol performances by the Richard Jackson Jazz Quartet and a capella group NUS Resonance.

And, since it’s Christmas, you can also donate new and pre-loved toys and books to beneficiaries supported by the Community Chest, as well as make donations to the charity organisation.

From 9am to 9pm. Admission is free.

CORRECTION: It was initially reported that the open house timing was from 9am to 6pm. This is incorrect. We apologise for the error.

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