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29-806: The Empress Place Building is a historic building in Singapore, located on the north bank of the Singapore River in the Downtown Core , within the Central Area in Singapore's central business district. The building is currently the second wing of the Asian Civilisations Museum . The other wing of the museum is located at the Old Tao Nan School building along Armenian Street. During the colonial era ,

58-506: A museum. Extensive restoration began, culminating in the opening of the Empress Place Museum on 7 April 1989 by the then Second Deputy Prime Minister Ong Teng Cheong . Although the museum was afflicted with structural and logistical problems from its inception, it nonetheless managed to organise five outstanding exhibitions on Chinese history in six years. The first of these exhibitions, which featured royal objects from

87-778: Is a river that flows parallel to Alexandra Road and feeds into the Marina Reservoir in the southern part of Singapore . The immediate upper watershed of the Singapore River is known as the Singapore River Planning Area , although the western part of the watershed is classified under the River Valley planning area. Singapore River planning area sits within the Central Area of the Central Region of Singapore, as defined by

116-486: Is known as the Marina Barrage . There are a number of sculptures along the Singapore River. Many of these depict the life of people living and working along the river during the early days of Singapore. Notable sculptures include: Between 1819, when the first wooden jetty and the first bridge were built over the Singapore River in Singapore, and in 2015, 14 bridges were built across the river (or 17, although

145-472: Is the deputy head of government of the Republic of Singapore . The incumbent deputy prime ministers are Heng Swee Keat and Gan Kim Yong , who took office on 1 May 2019 and 15 May 2024 respectively. The deputy prime minister is the second highest post, and is a senior Cabinet minister in Singapore. Since the mid-1980s, Singapore has had two deputy prime ministers at a time. The holder will sometimes assume

174-542: The Marina Reservoir , where the estuary is now located, is considered a Singapore River). Until 1819, the river could only be crossed by boats and ferries. Some of the bridges were demolished and rebuilt or their purpose was changed. The first bridge in Singapore was built over the Singapore river in 1819 where the Elgin Bridge now stands. There have been two Elgin bridges at some point. The first iron-made Elgin Bridge

203-558: The Qing dynasty , put on display many precious artefacts never seen before outside China. By 1995, the museum's problems got the better of it and on 30 April that year, it closed its doors. Subsequently, the Empress Place Building underwent renovations and opened as the second wing of the Asian Civilisations Museum on 2 March 2003, exhibiting Southeast , South , and West Asian collections. The Empress Place Building

232-591: The Urban Redevelopment Authority . The planning area shares boundaries with the following – River Valley and Museum to the north, Tanglin and Bukit Merah to the west, Outram to the south, and the Downtown Core to the east. Since 2008, the Singapore River was turned into a fresh water river after the completion of the Marina Barrage at Marina South . The Singapore River is approximately 3.2 kilometers long from its source at Kim Seng Bridge to where it empties into Marina Bay ;

261-552: The Victoria Memorial Hall and Theatre , as it is now called, was first erected on the Padang in 1887 but later removed to its present site in 1919. A second statue, a copy of the first one, was erected at Raffles Landing Place in 1972. The Dalhousie Memorial was originally located at Dalhousie Pier but found its present place in 1886. Cavenagh Bridge was built in 1869 and was converted to pedestrian traffic after

290-429: The river extends more than two kilometers beyond its original source at Kim Seng Bridge as Alexandra Canal , as far as the junction of Commonwealth Avenue. The mouth of the Singapore River was the old Port of Singapore , being naturally sheltered by the southern islands. Historically, the city of Singapore initially grew around the port so the river mouth became the centre of trade, commerce and finance. Old maps of

319-658: The Colony held its sessions from 1875 until 1939 when the first Supreme Court was built. Maxwell's original house became the Assembly House in 1954 after extensive renovations and reconstruction. The decision to build a new Town Hall was made in 1854; the building was completed in 1862. Government Offices that were housed included the Secretariat, Audit Office, Registration of Deeds Office, Land Office, Public Works and Medical Department, Treasury and Stamp Office, and

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348-473: The Empress Place Building was known simply as Government Offices. The first civic buildings were planned here in Sir Stamford Raffles ' day. Originally intended to be a courthouse , the Empress Place Building instead became offices for the government departments located in the adjacent Maxwell's House (later the old Parliament House ). Maxwell's House, designed by George Drumgoole Coleman ,

377-420: The Singapore River and Kallang Basin included waste from pig and duck farms, unsewered premises, street hawkers and vegetable whole sellers. Riverine activities such as transport, boat building and repairs were also found along the Singapore River. Some 750 lighters plied along the Singapore River and Kallang Basin in 1977. Waste, oil spills and wastewater from these boats and lighters added to

406-521: The Singapore River emptied into Singapore Straits and its southern islands before major land reclamation took place, the Singapore River now empties into Marina Bay – an area of water partially enclosed by the reclamation work. The Port of Singapore is now located to the west of the island, using most of the south-west coast, and passenger ships to Singapore now typically berth at the Singapore Cruise Centre at Harbourfront . Thus

435-405: The Singapore River's economic role has shifted away from one that of trade, towards more a role accommodated for tourism and aesthetics for the commercial zone which encloses it. Traversing across the river is available via water taxis . The river is now part of the Marina Reservoir after damming the Singapore River at its outlet to the sea to create a new reservoir of freshwater . The dam

464-408: The banks and the bottom of the river, clearing the debris and other rubbish. Due to such cleaning efforts, the Singapore River has significantly changed from one that was heavily busy and polluted to one that is clean for marine animals. The re-emergence of monitor lizards and otters in the Singapore River has been attributed to the success of the river's cleanup. Whereas the original mouth of

493-546: The building was designed by colonial engineer J.F.A. McNair and built by convict labour between June 1864 and December 1867. This original section now forms the part of the building nearest to the old Parliament House. Yet another courthouse was built in 1865; this is now the core of the Government Offices. In 1873–1875, the old courthouse was extended towards the river and this is where the Supreme Court of

522-826: The bureaux of the Colonial Engineer, the Official Assignee, and the Inspector General of the Police Force. The Legislative chamber occupied a room on the upper floor. In front of the building was a public square which was given the name Empress Place by the Municipal Council in 1907 in honour of Queen Victoria . It may well be the oldest pedestrian space in Singapore. Over time, Government Offices became associated with Empress Place and its name changed to what we know it today. As

551-485: The cities of India , there is, perhaps, no place in the East which boasts such a handsome group of [government] buildings as viewed from the sea." Inside, the rooms are stately, with high ceilings, handsome Doric columns and exquisite plaster mouldings and cornices . Elegantly proportioned, the building is laid out symmetrically along a central axis. Singapore River Jalan Besar GRC The Singapore River

580-528: The demand for more government office space increased, three major extensions were added in 1880, 1904–1909 and 1920. Fortunately, every one of these extensions were faithful to McNair's Neo-Palladian design and the building maintained a harmonious overall look. In the surrounding area also known as Empress Place, the Memorial Hall and Tower were added in 1905 and extensive renovations were carried out from 1954 until 1979. Raffles' statue, now in front of

609-619: The erection of Anderson Bridge . These are the major elements which have contributed to the developing qualities of Empress Place. The Empress Place Building was used by government departments until the late 1980s. It is perhaps best known as the Registry of Births and Deaths , the Citizenship Registry, and the Immigration Department. In the late 1980s, plans were made to convert Empress Place Building into

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638-563: The next prime minister following his appointment as Deputy Prime Minister in May 2019. However, Heng subsequently withdrew himself from the nomination in April 2021 citing age and health reasons and relinquished his finance portfolio. Lawrence Wong assumed the office as Deputy Prime Minister on 13 June 2022, serving alongside Heng Swee Keat after being appointed as Minister of Finance in 2021. Lawrence Wong left office on 15 May 2024 making him

667-601: The pollution of the rivers. In 1977, Prime Minister Lee called for a clean-up of Singapore's rivers, which included the Singapore River and the Kallang River . The clean-up cost the government $ 300 million at the time and involved the relocation of about 4,000 squatters , along with hawkers and vegetable sellers, whose daily waste flowed into the river. Public housing was found for the squatters, while street hawkers were persuaded to move to established hawker centres. The government then completely dredged foul-smelling mud from

696-415: The river state that it actually originates from Bukit Larangan (currently Fort Canning Hill ). Starting in 1819, there was heavy traffic on the Singapore River due to rapid urbanization and expanding trade . At the same time, it brought in water pollution caused by the disposal of garbage, sewage and other by-products of industries located along the river's banks . The sources of water pollution in

725-627: The role of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent from Singapore. The office of Deputy Prime Minister dates back to 1959 and it was first appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Negara , when Singapore attained self-governance from the British Empire . The title of Deputy Prime Minister remained unchanged after the merger with the Federation of Malaya , Sarawak and North Borneo to form Malaysia , while Singapore

754-416: Was gazetted as a national monument on 14 February 1992. Located at the mouth of the Singapore River , the Empress Place Building's imposing Neo-Palladian exterior with timber- louvred windows and pitched clay tile roofs caught the attention of immigrants and visitors sailing into Singapore harbour. A 1905 Singapore guidebook says of Government Offices and its neighbouring buildings, "Apart from

783-483: Was a federated state of Malaysia between 1963 and 1965. Toh Chin Chye was the first deputy prime minister of Singapore between 1959 and 1968. Heng Swee Keat was appointed as Minister of Finance and assumed the office as Deputy Prime Minister on 1 May 2019 while both Teo Chee Hean and Tharman Shanmugaratnam relinquished their positions. Heng Swee Keat was widely believed to be poised to succeed Lee Hsien Loong as

812-423: Was a two-storey house built for a merchant, John Argyle Maxwell, in 1827. However, it was never occupied by him and it became a courthouse and lands office. Subsequently, it was converted to Government Offices and additions were made in 1839 and 1847. Constructed in four phases from 1864 to 1920, Government Offices was built to provide much needed space for the growing colonial administration. The original section of

841-769: Was built in 1862 and named after Lord Elgin . It was later demolished and replaced with the current Elgin bridge in 1926. Other bridges along the river include the Coleman Bridge (1840), Kim Seng Bridge (1862), Cavenagh Bridge (1869), and Read Bridge (1889). The most recent bridges are the Helix Bridge (2010), Bayfront Bridge (2010), and the Jubilee Bridge (2015). 1°17′15″N 103°51′11″E  /  1.28750°N 103.85306°E  / 1.28750; 103.85306 Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore The deputy prime minister of Singapore

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