Crescent Flats , also known as The Crescent , was an apartment building on Meyer Road in Katong, Singapore . Completed in 1912, it is believed to have been the first apartment building built in Singapore. Designed by Regent Alfred John Bidwell for Manasseh Meyer , both the building and the neighbouring Meyer Flats , built as a companion block, were demolished to make way for a condominium project.
15-427: According to architectural historian Julian Davison , the building was a "gracious study in tropical Edwardian elegance and charm." It stood "in sharp contrast" to the neighbouring Meyer Flats, which was "devoid of extraneous embellishments, with the details of the facade pared down almost to the point of parsimony." The building featured open verandahs and "generous" fenestration, which allowed for natural ventilation via
30-530: A crescent. It had 36 apartment units in total. The building, designed by Regent Alfred John Bidwell of the prominent architectural firm Swan & Maclaren for businessman and community leader Manasseh Meyer , was built from 1909 to 1912. It was serviced by a private power station at the end of Tanjong Katong Road which opened on 19 May 1912. The station, owned by Meyer, also supplied the nearby Sea View Hotel with electricity at its opening. Each unit featured "one room divided into two" with an additional room at
45-436: A record-breaking 77,500 participants joined on 21 May 2000. There is also a noon edition that hits the newsstands on Mondays and Thursdays that gives more special coverage of late-night association football matches that occur after the morning edition goes to press. The New Paper was Singapore's second-highest circulating paid English-language newspaper before it became a free newspaper on 1 December 2016. The New Paper
60-620: Is noted for its coverage of sports news, particularly of association football (e.g. the UEFA Champions League and the Premier League ). Amongst its sports journalists, Iain Macintosh was voted second runner-up for Best Football Journalist held by Soccerlens.com website in 2010. On 15 June 1993, in partnership with distributor Lityan Systems, both parties launched a one-step video programmer, to help readers key in
75-535: The Urban Redevelopment Authority 's offers of development incentives in exchange for the gazetting of the buildings for conservation. Notable residents of the building included veterinary surgeon Percy Scott Falshaw . The New Paper The New Paper is a Singaporean newspaper. It was originally published in tabloid format as a "noon paper", then from 2016 as a freesheet in the morning from 7 a.m. onwards. In December 2021
90-483: The English/Malay/Tamil Media group of SPH, before it became a freesheet. On 17 October 2016, Singapore Press Holdings announced a 10% cut of staff, and that My Paper and The New Paper (TNP) would be merged to form a revamped TNP that will be a freesheet on 1 December 2016. Distributed free of charge, this version of The New Paper aimed to reach a circulation of 300,000, matching Today ,
105-618: The end of the Japanese Occupation of Singapore , the block was one of several civilian buildings that were occupied by the Royal Air Force . The Royal Air Force vacated the building, then owned by Kitty Meyer, in 1949, after which it was left unoccupied. It was then renovated and reopened in December 1951, after which the flats were redecorated and redesigned. Most of the units were to be let out to new tenants as many of
120-667: The flats, while approaching other architects, asking them to "work on the premise that the two blocks of flats will be demolished." By then, the controlled rent at the building was $ 300. In October 1991, it was announced that both buildings were to be vacated by the following year, after which they were to be demolished to make way for a condominium project. This decision was criticised by prominent local architect Lee Kip Lin , then- Singapore Institute of Architects president Tay Kheng Soon and then- Singapore Heritage Society president William S. W. Lim , who believed that they should have been gazetted for conservation instead. The company declined
135-649: The floor tiles were not unlike those previously found in the Raffles Hotel . Potted plants were placed on the balconies. It faced the seafront and was fitted with electrical lighting and fans by the Siemens Brothers . Tennis courts for residents were erected by the shore. The design of the building was inspired by the Royal Crescent , a row of terraced houses in Bath, Somerset that form the shape of
150-1166: The four-digit codes assigned for the programmes listed in the television guides published in The New Paper. The device cost $ 125. FiRST which was originally published as a monthly magazine, merged with The New Paper in May 2009, and was published as a weekly pull-out rather than monthly. The New Paper is often compared to the tabloid Today , although the latter positions itself against The Straits Times . The New Paper targets readers with more eye-catching tabloid journalism featuring sensationalist headlines. It tends to focus on local human-interest stories, with extensive sections on entertainment, fashion and sports. There is, in comparison with The Straits Times , very little coverage of international news. However, according to SPH, The New Paper presents "news with sharp angles not seen elsewhere", and perceives its paper to be "stylish", "arresting" and "easy to read" while tackling "complex issues". The newspaper's average daily sales had dropped to 60,000, according to Warren Fernandez, Editor-in-Chief of
165-578: The paper went to digital only. First launched on 26 July 1988, by Singapore Press Holdings (SPH), it had an average daily circulation of 101,600 in August 2010, according to SPH. In 1991, the paper organised the New Paper Big Walk , a mass-participation walking event. The event came to be held annually in Singapore. It holds the official Guinness World Record as world's largest walk when
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#1732790699200180-535: The previous tenants either could not be traced or were already living elsewhere. In 1989, the Hong Leong Group bought over the land on which the Crescent Flats and Meyer Flats stood for $ 56 million. The group, which planned to develop high-rise apartments on the site, launched a competition for its development. It approached some architects, asking if they could redevelop the site while preserving
195-401: The rear which could be used as a kitchen or servants' quarters. The building was advertised as "modern, newly-built flats, with electric light and water laid on and let for special terms to those taking them for not less than twelve months." However, the water supply was "not satisfactory" Meyer then proposed a Municipal supply costing $ 3 per month per unit. In January 1918, Meyer applied to raise
210-474: The rent of the ground floor units from $ 40 to $ 50 and the rent of the first and second-floor flats from $ 55 or $ 60. However, this decision was criticised by the building's tenants. The Rent Assessment Board for Singapore decided in Meyer's favour. In 1927, Meyer commissioned Bidwell for a companion block to the Crescent Flats. The neighbouring building, named Meyer Flats, was completed in the following year. After
225-509: The sea breeze. Davison argued that both buildings represented a "kind of Europeanisation of the building character that corresponded with a more Western-oriented outlook and lifestyle on the part of Singapore’s expatriate community." The crescent-shaped building was three storeys tall, featuring "long bay-like windows and spiral staircases." A "narrow and dim" passageway within the building led to its "beautiful" covered courtyard, accompanied by an airwell. The New Paper wrote in August 1989 that
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