Albert Street

History
Albert Street forms junctions with Waterloo Street, Bencoolen Street, Prinsep Street and Short Street. A resolution passed by the Municipal Council in March 1858 led to the street being built extensively and named in honour of Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria. Prior to the construction, the street was just a unnamed side road located between Selegie Street and Waterloo Street that led to Rochore Road. Theemithi, the Hindu fire-walking ceremony was originally performed on this street because of the street's proximity to Serangoon Road and the presence of a large Indian community. The ritual was later shifted to Sri Mariamman Temple in South Bridge Road in the 1870s. The area was also a part of Kampong Bencoolen in the early days, an enclave of Muslims from Bencoolen, Sumatra.

Albert Street, originally lined with low, two-storeyed shophouses, was until April 1981, a popular open-air eating location serving good food till the early hours of the morning. The bars there only added to the lively night life. The most sought after eatery along this street was the Wing Seong restaurant commonly called Fatty's. It moved to Albert Court in 1986 while redevelopment of the area saw the other restaurants and food stalls removed to the Albert Complex. The Bugis-Rochor area is now an arts and entertainment hub, thus efforts are on to develop Albert Street similarly and bring back the bohemia of its long lost days. The Street is now a pedestrian mall and no longer open to traffic.

Key Features
Such is the fame of Albert Street that many of its buildings have taken on the name of the street. The Albert Court Hotel is made of pre war conservation shophouses and reflects Peranakan architecture. Albert Court is a mall made up of two rows of about 30 shophouses, most of them being eateries. The 20-storey Burlington Square building, a commercial property is a more recent structure built in 1998 and occupying a total of 71,000 sq. ft. Its main entrance opens into Bencoolen Street. Other commercial buildings on this street are Sim Lim Square, Bencoolen Building, and the Golden Wall Auto Centre. A pedestrian mall featuring sundry goods was opened by the Orchard Parade Hotel Holdings. It draws in crowds for a good bargain. Other buildings that line this street are the Fu Lu Shou complex and the Albert Centre food court and market and Albert Complex.

Variant Names
Chinese names:
(1) In Hokkien Kam kong mang ku lu or "Kampong Bencoolen", a reference to the "Bencoolen village".
(2) In Hokkien Ba mua lu koi which meant the street where "sesame seeds are squeezed for oil".
(3) In Hokkien Mang-ku-lu seng-ong-kong refers to "Bencoolen Joss" thus a possible reference of the joss-stick business at Bencoolen Street.

Tamil name: Thimiri Thidal or probably Theemithi Thidal meaning "a place where people tread on fire".



Author
Naidu Ratnala Thulaja



References 
Buckley, C. B. (1984). An anecdotal history of old times in Singapore: 1819-1867 (p. 667). Singapore: Oxford University Press.
(Call no.: RSING 959.57 BUC)

Dunlop, P. K. G. (2000). Street names of Singapore (p. 3). Singapore: Who's Who Publications.
(Call no.: RSING 959.57 DUN)

Durai, R. S. S. (1939). Malayan street names: What they mean and whom they commemorate (p. 81). Ipoh: Mercantile Press.
(Call no.: RSEA 959.5 RAJ)

Edwards, N., & Keys, P. (1988). Singapore: A guide to buildings, streets, places (p. 282). Singapore: Times Books International.
(Call no.: RSING 959.57 EDW)

Samuel, D. S. (1991). Singapore's heritage: Through places of historical interest (p. 231). Singapore: Elixir Consultancy Service.
(Call no.: RSING 959.57 SAM)

Savage, V. R., & Yeoh, B. S. A. (2003). Toponymics: A study of Singapore street names (p. 32). Singapore: Eastern Universities Press.
(Call no.: RSING 915.9570014 SAV)

Ong, L. (1989, November 19). URA plans site sale to bring life to northern city area. The Straits Times, p. 21.

Rashiwala, K. (1998, July 2). Wing Tai set to launch Burlington Sq project. The Straits Times, Money, p. 63.

Sit, Y. F. (1995, November 27). Albert Court? Where's that? The Straits Times, Life!, p. 4. 



The information in this article is valid as 2003 and correct as far as we can ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history of the subject. Please contact the Library for further reading materials on the topic.

Subject
Architecture and Landscape>>Streets and Places
Street names--Singapore
Urbanization--Singapore
Arts>>Architecture>>Public and commercial buildings



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