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City Hall

City Hall at St Andrew's Road replaced the 1929 Municipal Building in 1951, housing various government bodies before it became home to the Singapore judiciary in 1987.

History
Originally, where City Hall now stands, there stood two private homes. They were built in 1828 and 1830 and belonged to Dr William Montgomerie of the East India Company and Thomas Church, the Resident Councillor. The Municipal Council which oversaw municipal matters including transportation and infrastructure needs such as gas and lighting was formed in 1851. They had their offices in Town Hall (1856 - 1897) and Finlayson Green (1893) but as the city's administrative needs grew, so did the need for a building to house its civil services. In 1926, the two homes were demolished to make way for the Municipal Building. This was designed by Municipal architects, A. Gordon and F. D. Meadows and completed in 1929.

With Singapore proclaimed a city by the Royal Charter granted by King George VI in 1951, the Municipal Building was renamed City Hall. It served the City Council until 1963, after which it was the location of several public administrative departments including the Public Utilities Board, the Prime Minister's Office, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the former Ministry of Culture and the Judiciary.

Distinguished events that marked Singapore's history were often held here. These included the surrender of the Japanese accepted by Lord Louise Mountbatten; the swearing in of the first Mayor in Singapore; the installation of the first honorary citizen of Singapore, Sir Franklin Gimson in March 1952; the declaration of Singapore's self-government in 1959 and independence in 1963; and the swearing in of Singapore's Prime Ministers.

In 1987, the building underwent renovations and was annexed by the Supreme Court to provide space for more courtrooms and for the Academy of Law.

City Hall (Municipal Building), 1 St Andrew's Road, Singapore 178958.
Completed: 1939. 
Architect: Frank Dorrington Ward.
Owner: State.
Gazetted: 14 February 1992.



Author
Bonny Tan



References
Samuel, D. S. (1991). Singapore's heritage: Through places of historical interest (pp. 124, 126). Singapore: Elixir Consultancy Service.
(Call no.: RSING 959.57 SAM)

Tyers, R. K. (1976). Ray Tyers' Singapore: Then and now (p. 45). Singapore: University Education Press.
(Call no.: RSING 959.57 TYE)

Goodwood Journal, 4th Qtr., 25. (1985).
(Call no.: RCLOS 052 GHCGJ)


Further Readings
Liu, G. (1996). In granite and chunam: The national monuments of Singapore (pp. 61-69). Singapore: Landmark Books.
(Call no.: RSING 725.94095957 LIU) 

Supreme Court Singapore.(n.d.). City Hall history. Retrieved December 17, 2004, on http://www.supcourt.gov.sg/english/organisation/cityhall.html 

The information in this article is valid as at 1997and correct as far as we are able to 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>>Building Types>>Civic and Administrative Buildings
City halls--Singapore
Municipal buildings--Singapore
Singapore--History--18th century
Arts>>Architecture>>Public and commercial buildings
History>>Asia>>Southeast Asia>>Singapore



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