Emily & Sophia - Away From The City Bustle

Mount Emily and Mount Sophia

Dhoby Ghaut

Central, Singapore

January 2010 

Mount Emily and Mount Sophia, the names of streets and a hill, are located in Rochore, just a short walk up from Dhoby Ghuat. Access is by Sophia Road.

 

A flea mart was in a warehouse held the very day we were there...



In early colonial times Mount Sophia was commonly referred to as Flint's Hill, after Captain William Flint, the first resident there since the end of 1823. Sophia was Raffles' second wife, and also the name of Flint's daughter, both believed to be the hill's namesake.

 

Somehow the place has a feel reminiscent of an era gone by...

 

Mount Sophia was one of the earliest middle-class residential districts.  Besides Flint, it was home to prominent businessman Eu Tong Sen. Others include August Behn, V. Lorenz Meyer and F.A. Schreiber (of Behn, Meyer & Co.) who were listed as the hills residents in 1842. In the early 1880s, the hill boasted of grand houses. On 6 June 1885, the Children's Home opened in Sophia Road.  Sophia Flats, built in the 1930s, stands at the entrance to Mount Sophia.

Interesting little nooks and crannies abound...

 

 

Sophia means "wisdom" in Greek and is an appropriate reference to the proliferation of educational institutions on that hill.  These include Trinity College, and the Nanyang Academy (of Fine Arts or NAFA) which moved to Mount Sophia in 1983. The College has since moved to Upper Bukit Timah while NAFA to Bencoolen Street. 

Even ordinary places like the park and the toilets are unique...

The former Methodist Girls School was turned into a hip, creative area for budding artists in October 2007...

 

 

Visitors here drive fascinating mobiles...

 

Where only a thin line divides the quiet from the bustle a few steps away...

 

 

The majestic colonial building spotlighted at twilight...

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More photos are available on Merlion Wayfarer's Picasa at :
Places - Dhoby Ghaut

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Sources

• "Mount Sophia" by Vernon Cornelius-Takahama (21 September 1999). Singapore Infopedia. Retrieved from http://infopedia.nl.sg/articles/SIP_482_2004-12-27.html.
• "The Art of Old School - The Buzz Generating Newcomer" by Mabel Tay (24 October 2007). Mount Sophia Pte Ltd. Retrieved from http://www.oldschool.sg/press_release_general.pdf.

 

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Bartley Road 2009 - Going Underground Majestically

Bartley Road to Tampines Avenue 10

North-East to East, Singapore
May and December 2009

 

The extension of Bartley Road to Tampines Avenue 10 provides a vital link from the east to central regions. This direct central-east connection will also help to relieve traffic congestion along the Pan Island Expressway (PIE) near Eunos and Bedok Reservoir Road. 

Started in late 2000, the first phase between Kaki Bukit and Tampines Avenue 10, was completed in 2003. The second phase, from Kaki Bukit to Bartley, was originally slated to open in 2005. It stalled after the builder ran into financial problems.  In 2006, the LTA called for fresh tenders and local contractor Hock Lian Seng clinched the deal. 

When the link opens in January 2010, it will be Singapore's sixth viaduct. Along with it, a new surface road - Bartley Road East - will also open, linking Airport Road to Hougang Avenue 3. At the relocated Bartley Road/Upper Paya Lebar Road junction, the underpass will form a three-tier road interchange with the Bartley Road extension viaduct and the surface roads.

At the Hock Lian Seng - LTA site office, old diversion signs lie piled up in a storage shed...

As part of the Bartley Road extension project, a vehicular underpass was built along Upper Paya Lebar Road and opened to traffic on 8 March 2009. The newly completed dual-two lane underpass allows motorist to bypass the junction of Bartley Road and Upper Paya Lebar Road as they travel towards Airport Road or Lorong Ah Soo...

In living with Singapore's Garden City image, 

new saplings were planted along the sides of the road... 

 

The Hock Lian Seng banner lies in the background, 

a proud reminder of its successful project undertaking...

 
On 23 May 2009, yet another new breath of life was added to Bartley Road with the opening of
the Circle Line MRT Station beside the newly-renovated Bartley Christian Church...

9 months later, the viaduct has been completed. Vehicle drivers undergo yet another road diversion
which has resulted in frequent traffic jams as drivers get used to the changes...

A scene on the last day of 2009 with the completed viaduct,
a recent Traffic Police banner on road safety and new road signs stuck with black tape...

Two new pedestrian overhead bridges have also been constructed along Bartley Road and Upper Paya Lebar Road to facilitate pedestrian crossing - The axis of the first bridge is uniquely-angled to accommodate the lie of the land...

The second bridge is in the midst of construction...

 

The earlier temporary road signs have been replaced with permanent road signs. 

The tree saplings have also grown and are now sprouting leaves...

 

Bartley Secondary School, an icon of Bartley Road, 

is now a lot closer to the main road - due to the widening of Bartley Road...

 

A misplaced road sign in a construction site along Upper Paya Lebar Road, 

pointing in the direction of nurseries instead of the viaduct...

With the opening of the underpass, the existing Upper Paya Lebar Road will be realigned, so that the junction of Upper Paya Lebar Road and Bartley Road will be relocated southwards directly above the underpass...

The new surface road, Bartley Road East, 
which leads to Tampines Avenue 10 and Hougang Avenue 3... 

 

Drains have to be filled in and rebuilt...

Foreign nationals working in the project cycle home after a hard day's work...

One of the many road signs directing drivers on the correct direction to take...

 

“Danger Keep Out” signs plaster many areas where excavation is still going on...

 

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More photos are available on Merlion Wayfarer's Picasa at : Transportation

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Rebranding The Old

Allson Hotel & Grand Pacific Hotel
Victoria Street, Bugis, Singapore 

December 2009 

 

31 December 2009 was the last day of Allson Hotel's operations. 

 

On 1 January 2010, the hotel would be renamed as Hotel Grand Pacific, in line with the name of its parent company. This is the hotel's 4th name change after New Hong Kong Hotel (1970) and Hotel Tai-Pan (1981), before Hotel Tai-Pan Ramada was sold in 1989. 

 

Having held the Allson Hotel brand since 1989, the name change is a significant move for the hotel management team headed by Mr Albert Lai, and his staff as it relinquishes its 20-year franchise arrangement. With the name change comes a rebranding exercise - the hotel's interior and facade are renovated, a new website created, linen and stationery changed, and the uniforms and name tags take on a whole new look. 

 

We spend a day with the staff as they undergo the last stages of preparation for the new year.

 

A look at the new entrance of the hotel with the new carpark sign and the temporary banner draped over the hotel signboard...

New “Welcome” signs greet drive-in visitors and guests...

The location of the old reception desk is now boarded up...

 

 

The entrance to the employee garden with its old name and the “No Entry” sign...

 

A last look at the familiar Allson typeface in the employee garden before it is taken down...

 

A door mat with the old Allson logo...

 

Shelves full of linen with the old Allson logo...

 

One of the last few loads of Allson linen...

 

The staff laundry chits with a mix of the old and new stationery...

 

A bathrobe with the old Allson logo...

 

The Allson laundry bag and guest laundry chit...

 

A comparison of the old and the new - laundry bags and guest laundry chits...

 

The management and staff stand proudly beside the elegant new Hotel Grand Pacific Singapore logo...

 

The renovated new facade of the Hotel Grand Pacific...

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The full album is available at:
Places - Hotels

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The Railway Ran Through It

Duxton Plain Park

Chinatown, Singapore

December 2009

 

Duxton Plain Park is a long, narrow and curved park between New Bridge Road and the former Yan Kit Swimming Pool.

 

Formerly known as Duxton Park, it got its unusual shape from the fact that it was once a railway track. The railway once passed through here on its way from Tanjong Pagar towards Orchard Road.

 

When the Malayan Railway realigned its tracks in the 1930s, the railway tracks were removed, and in their place is this curve-shaped park.

 

Within this park, there is a keramat of Sharifah Rogayah, the granddaughter of Al Habib Al Saiyid Noh bin Mohammad Al Habshee. (This can be seen in the right corner.)

 

Now, few frequent the park - only the occasional senior citizens and some foreign workers can be seen passing their time here amidst the birds and the strolling cats.

 

 

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The full album is available at:
Places - Duxton

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Cracks In The Wall

Cathedral of the Good Shepherd
Queen Street, Bugis, Singapore

December 2009
  

The Cathedral of the Good Shepherd, stands at the junction of Queen Street and Bras Basah Road. The oldest Catholic church in Singapore, its foundation stone for the Cathedral was laid on 18 June 1843 and construction was completed by 1847. It was gazetted a national monument on 06 July 1973.

 

On 08 September 2009, the Straits Times ran a report on the church's weakening foundations. Construction on the Singapore Management University's new campus next door and the Circle Line construction had resulted in obvious cracks on the church's walls, columns and floors. The church was also said to be tilting. A restoration timeline is in place. A survey of the building has been completed and emergency repairs are currently in progress.

 

  

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The full album is available at:
Places - Bugis

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