Singapore's City Hall and the Former Supreme Court

The main rotunda of the former Supreme Court

Two buildings steeped in history - the former Supreme Court and City Hall. Both buildings have witnessed history first hand.

The buildings went through a major makeover and are now joined together by two bridge connectors and an overhead shelter. The National Gallery Singapore are into its final stages of completion, that is to transform the place into the largest gallery of South East Asian's art. (1)

We were given an exclusive tour of this unique museum called the Naked Museum. Our wonderful museum docent, Sheila, was herself a former lawyer from the Arbitration Courts. I enjoyed her candid quips and also her in-depth knowledge of the place as she had worked in the Supreme Courts of a number of years.

City Hall (Formerly known as the Municipal Building)

The side entrance to the all important hall

Singapore's City Hall - Built between 1926 and 1929, the building was formerly known as the Municipal Building. (2) This building holds two monumental blocks of history. This was where the Japanese officially signed the surrender papers, effectively returning the rule of Singapore back to the British in 1945.

Japanese surrender tables were lined across the hall - between the second and third pillars

The Japanese hung their heads low, walked up the 23-steps of the City Hall and into this magnificant hall. The massive pillars and wooden pane doors looked pretty much untouched by time. In this same hall in 1959, the first fully independent Singapore government held their first swearing-in ceremony. (3)


Former Supreme Court

The main courtroom

Built on the site of another former great - Hotel L'Europe, the Supreme Court was the place where lawyers battled it out; where judges say "guilty" or "not guilty". The former Supreme Court, built between 1930 and 1939, had many more verbal narrative than the City Hall as the latter saw criminals, commoners and legal professionals walking through its doors, each of them with a story to tell. (2)

Looking up from the Former Supreme Court Balcony

Sheila then brought us out to the balcony to have a look on the outside. The weather was pretty good and we had a good view of the Padang, though much of the grass field has been laid over in preparation of Singapore's 50th National Day.

Rattan chair as good as new

Many things of old within the two buildings have been nicely refurbished. For example, the rattan chair
held up many people of the past. They must have waited patiently for their cases, or the cases of their loved ones to be read.

The Supreme Court's grand library

Sheila had more to share about the Supreme Court. This library holds bitter-sweet memories for her. This was where she was sent to by senior lawyers requiring quick information. There were just row after row of leather-bound books and she had to look through thick stacks of law books to locate the information.

Underneath the hexagonal plaque lies a time capsule that was buried in 1937

One of the lock-ups sited within the Supreme Court

It was a truly an eye-opener of an outing and meeting dedicated docents such as Sheila truly bring to life the rich history of the place.

 

References

1. Shetty, D.  April 24, 2015. National Gallery Singapore has Naked Museum tour. The Straits Times. http://www.straitstimes.com/lifestyle/visual-arts/story/national-gallery-singapore-has-naked-museum-tour-20150424#6 Accessed on May 2, 2015.

2. National Gallery Singapore. About the Buildings. http://www.nationalgallery.sg/buildings/ Accessed on May 2, 2015.

3. National Gallery Singapore. City Hall and Former Supreme Court at a glance. http://nationalartgallery.sg/wp-content/uploads/6_OpenHouse_Guided_Tour_Brochure_101110.pdf Accessed on May 2, 2015.