Home / Architecture and Landscape

National Library Balustrade

The National Library Balustrade is a landmark associated with the National Library building at 91 Stamford Road. It refers to a sheltered porch with a flight of stairs that is boxed in by red brick walls and a waist high ledge that leads up to the main entrance of the National Library. It is commonly used as a meeting place and pick-up point for users of the National Library.

Description
The Balustrade is commonly referred to as the "front area" or the place where one can sit and wait, read a book, chat with friends or a place to "watch the world go by." It has been in use since 12 November 1960, when the National Library was opened. The Balustrade is still being used today as a meeting place and waiting area by both the young and the old.

Many Singaporeans have fond memories of the Balustrade. During the 1970s, the Balustrade was one of the few places where Singaporeans, especially young people could spend their time after school or on weekends for social activities. Most schools were segregated then and the Balustrade was one of the few places where students could get together and mix with members of the opposite gender. It was also used as a pick-up point for parents who would leave their children at the library to borrow books after school on weekdays and Saturdays. These parents would then fetch their children who would be waiting for them at the Balustrade.

Events
One of the fond memories among the senior staff was an event that took place at the Balustrade about a month before the opening of the new National Library building in November 1960. The National Library used to be housed together with the Singapore Museum before that. A lorry was used to transfer the library collection of 50,000 books from the museum to the bottom of the Balustrade. A human chain made up of the entire 20 library staff including the former director Mrs Hedwig Anuar, was then formed along the Balustrade to move the library books into the new building. It took the staff a total of 2 days to complete the operation.

Another incident occurred in April 1963. A robbery took place on the second floor of the library that was once the administrative office but now houses the Multimedia Centre. Four masked robbers armed with daggers grabbed a metal case containing a sum of S$30,000 that was meant for staff payroll and escaped via the Balustrade. Their robbery attempt ended at the Balustrade as one of them dropped the heavy metal case containing the money. Before they could get into their getaway car located near the National Museum, they were captured by a couple of policemen on patrol nearby.



Author
Heirwin Mohd Nasir



References 
Between forgetting and remembering: Memories of the National Library. (2000). Singapore: Singapore Heritage Society.
(Call no: RSING 027.5095957 BET)

Seet, K.K. (1983). A place for the people. Singapore: Time Books International.
(Call no: RSING 027.55957 SEE)

Lim, Rebecca. (1999, March 14). Here we watched the girls go by. The Straits Times, Sunday Plus, p. 10.

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

Subject
Architecture and Landscape>>Building Types>>Public Buildings>>Libraries
Events>>Historical Periods>>Independence and Nation-Building (1965-)
Library buildings--Singapore
National libraries--Singapore
Staircases--Singapore
Library architecture--Singapore
Law and government>>Culture and community>>Public libraries
Science and technology>>Library and information science>>Libraries and information centres



All Rights Reserved. National Library Board Singapore 2004.