where are these one-storey houses?

these single-storey terrace houses should really be classified as one-and-a-half storey houses because the rooms are raised above ground level. i was attracted to these houses by the decorative motifs and the out-of-the-ordinary structure of the building, including the edge of the roof.

i believe this row of houses, together with some other houses, was featured in yesterday.sg two years ago.

quiz questions:

1 what is the address of this row of houses?

2 why was it built this way - with the living area raised above the ground?

what are at 2, 4, 6 nassim road?

at no:6 is a spa boutique. spaboutique ~ the city resort spa @ nassim is located just a stone's throw away from orchard road at 6 nassim road. step from the busy metropolitan atmosphere of the city into sprawling grounds surrounded by nature. soak in the nature calls and the ambience of an early 20th century colonial-style bungalow, as you relax and refresh under the personalized care of our experienced therapists.








at no:4 is pecc secretariat. pecc stands for pacific economic cooperation council. it is a non-governmental institution. the building is vacant as it is undergoing renovation or as they put it, rectification.




at no:2 is siia house. siia stands for singapore institute of international affairs. unifem stands for united nations development fund for women. aidha is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to ‘enriching lives through financial education.’ inspired by unifem's national committee, singapore, aidha serves women migrant workers.



i went looking for no:3 nassim road and ended up with 2, 4 an 6 nassim road.

what was the tourist attraction i was looking for which used to be at no: 3 nassim road?

what is at this address - no:3 nassim road - today?

no hamburgers at this macdonald house

(photo from national archive of singapore)

many people, especially the young, who walk past this building along orchard road, are totally unaware that more than forty-three years ago, this building was the object of a terrorist attack. a bomb went off and it killed three people and injured many others.

you can read more about it at this website and this newspaper report.

this historic building, built in 1949, used to house the hongkong and shanghai banking corporation (hsbc) on the first few floors. it was vacant for a number of years before reopening in 2005. today, a different bank (citibank) occupies the lower four floors.

another building nearby - demolished in the early 80s to make way for the dhoby ghaut mrt station - was the subject of a bomb hoax during the same time. amber mansions was located at the corner of penang road and orchard road.

two other interesting buildings located along the same row are one housing the bmc academy and its neighbour which houses the mdis. one of them used to be a motor-car showroom. which one?

building viewed from the side

you are so used to viewing this building from the front. how about a side view of this well-known building in singapore? this building, built in 1929, is about 80 years old.

what is this building?

seems like capitol theatre is recognizable from any angle. i remember, when i was in secondary 1 or 2, i was looking at the front of capitol theatre - not this view - practically every school-day. i can still remember one of the the posters featuring rock hudson and gina lollobrigida in the film ' come september'.

some old buildings in changi

we went with mdm ow - my guest blogger - on a nostalgic tour of the area around changi village. our first stop was the quarters where she stayed when her late father was working for the royal air force (raf) as a fitter. we found out that the buildings were 70 years old; they were built in 1938. according to her, the front of the house has been extended, otherwise everything has remained much the same.

the house had one bedroom and a kitchen. so, with four siblings and her parents sharing the limited space, she had to sleep on a foldable canvas bed in the space between the kitchen and the living room.

to supplement their household income, her enterprising parents used to operate a drink stall at the changi golf course. part of the golf course could be seen from the back of the 70-year old house.

we tried to locate the other house, the one they had stayed in prior to moving to the 70-year old quarters, but could not really identify the building at hendon road. we came across some other buildings that would have been used to house the non-commissioned officers in the royal air force.

two other buildings which we could not locate and which could have been demolished are the changi grammar school, which was featured in chun see's blog, and a small church. she said it was not the marantha church.

we also drove past the naafi shop along netheravon road. she took us to see the big field where they used to screen movies on a friday or saturday night when the british forces were still in singapore. that is where we came across a 1934 building which has been converted into a seafood restaurant. the building next to it, which appeared to have been a clubhouse, seems to have been abandoned.

we also went to have a look, from the outside, at the old changi hospital located at halton road. the land transport authority has plans to lease the property for commercial uses. there is also a meteorological station along hendon road.

the area where these old buildings are located is unusually quiet and deserted. no wonder this is a favourite haunt of the paranormal investigators.

abandoned houses on a hill

today, i deviated from my usual walking route at botanic gardens. instead of walking within the gardens, i decided to walk the periphery of the gardens - holland road, tyersall road and gallop road.


at gallop road, i saw this abandoned house on a hill. as there was no one around, i decided to do a bit of snooping. found out that there was another abandoned building on higher ground, further up the road. the second one, with tiled roofing, was in better shape and condition. the first one, though a bit rundown, was actually more impressive. its roofing seemed to be that of corrugated iron. the facade was however spoilt by the window-type air-conditioner.


what was this building - the one in the top picture - used as before it was abandoned? did it have a name and if it did, what was the name?

old french embassy; inverturret

where is this building?

went around photographing some old buildings, before they disappear forever.

this old colonial building used to be a post office.

where is this building?
what is the name of the post office?

these days with old buildings making way for development, you do not know whether it will be still around next year.

anyway, on this subject of demolition of old buildings, i heard this one at our gathering: if a school building that would have been 181 years could be obliterated, what is a 55-year old hotel?