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Heritage Trail
The Joo Chiat 65 Heritage Trail is a collection of historical and heritage buildings and sites located in the Joo Chiat Division. These include Mosques, Churches, Temples, Old Cemeteries and Schools which have a long and interesting history.
Mr Chew Joo Chiat, was a migrant from China and made his fortune as a trader before becoming a plantation owner, cultivating gambler, nutmeg and coconut. In the first two decades of the 1900s, he acquired large pieces of land in the Katong, Joo Chiat area, and became known as the 'King of Katong'.
Confederate Estate Road was a dirt track stretching from Geylang Serai through Confederate Estate and Perseverance Estate, to the seafront. By 1917, Confederate Estate Road became known as Joo Chiat Road.
Since then, Peranakan familles began to settle in Joo Chiat, building the Peranakan-style shophouses that Joo Chiat is known for today. Joo Chiat was designated a conservation area
in July 1993.
Source: eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/
01
Siglap South Community Centre
6 Palm Road Singapore 456441
Siglap South Community Centre is also a Centre of Excellence for Performing Arts. The Siglap South Community Centre has an interesting history.
It traces its roots back to the Siglap Social Centre, which was officially opened in May 1953 on the same site. The Siglap Social Centre was run by the Department of Social Welfare.
Over the years, it has evolved into the vibrant community hub we know today as the Siglap South Community Centre.
The current centre, located at 6 Palm Road, Singapore 456441, offers a range of facilities, including a roof terrace, homecraft room, dance studio, multi-purpose hall, conference room, and music room.
02
Kampung Siglap
10 La Salle Road, Singapore 456933
Kampung Siglap Lifeskills & Retreat Centre was converted from the old Siglap Primary School.
It is a community space to inspire hope and change in the social service sector and managed by New Hope Community Services.
03
Masjid Kampung Siglap
451, Marine Parade Road Singapore 449283
28 December 1902 is the earliest documented date etched on a Quranic Frame which was hung behind the mihrab of the old mosque building.
However, this is not the date Masjid Kampung Siglap was first erected. Oral history from the old Kampung Siglap villagers mentioned that the mosque had been repaired thrice.
The Quranic Frame was apparently put up either during the second or third repair work. It was widely believed that the mosque was collectively built by the village folk.
The plot of land where the old mosque was built had been bought by the late Mdm Hajijah, mother of the late Mr Daud Bin M. Shah J.P. also known as Tok Teh Daud.
Most of the villagers were fishermen. They sold their daily catch to raise funds to build the mosque. Much time, effort and money was dedicated towards this laborious project.
The new Masjid Kampung Siglap was officially opened on 27 December 1992. It was officiated by the Honourable Mufti of Singapore, Syed Isa Bin Semait.
04
Masjid Kassim
448 Changi Road Singapore 419975
It was originally constructed in the early 1920s on a piece of wakaf land generously donated by Ahna Mohamed Kassim Bin Ally Mohamed in 1921.
At that time, the mosque was a modest one-storey structure, accommodating around 700 worshippers.
Over the years, Masjid Kassim has undergone changes and expansions. In its current form, this historic mosque stands proudly on Changi Road and can now hold up to 2,000 worshippers.
05
Church of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour
31 Siglap Hill, Singapore 456085
The Church of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour, also known as OLPS Church, is a Roman Catholic church located at Siglap Hill, Singapore.
It falls within the Siglap housing estate, near the Kembangan MRT station. The church was founded in 1961.
06
Bethesda Church (Frankel Estate)
4 La Salle Street, Singapore 456930
The Bethesda Frankel Estate Church has a rich history.
It was established in 1996 when it took over the administration and running of the kindergarten from Bethesda (Katong) Church.
The church’s commitment to education is evident through its kindergarten, which offers classes from Playgroup to K2, serving more than 200 children.
07
Tua Kong Green
Tua Kong Green Singapore 455383
Tua Kong Green is certified by the Singapore Book of Records (SBOR) in 2016 to be Singapore’s Shortest Road at 26m.
08
Kubur Kassim Cemetery
426 Siglap Road, Singapore 455933
Kubur Kassim is an Old Muslim Cemetery at Siglap Road. It is one of the oldest Muslim burial grounds in Singapore and was established in the 1920s.
09
The Odessey (former Grand Hotel)
25 Still Road South, Singapore 423934
This 2 storey mansion named ‘Karikal Mahal’, was built in 1920s by Moona Kader Sultan, a successful Tamil Muslim businessman.
In 1947, the Lee Rubber Company acquired the property and the buildings of Karikal Mahal were renovated into a residential guest house called The Grand Hotel which operated until 2000.
Since Dec 2016, Odessey The Global Pre School has been operating in this conserved building.
Source: Karikal Mahal: The Lost Palace of a Fallen Cattle King (nlb.gov.sg)
10
Ean Keng Si Buddhist Temple
48 Frankel Avenue, Singapore 458176
Ean Keng Si Buddhist Temple was built in 1955 by Tan Tock San, the son of OCBC founding director Tan Ean Kiam (1881-1943).
Tan Tock San is the Chairman of Tan Ean Kiam Foundation which manages several properties, including several shophouses located at Ean Kiam Place in the Katong area.
11
Tok Lasam Burial Ground
End of Jalan Sempadan
Tok Lasam’s grave along Jalan Sempadan. The graves of Tok Lasam, the founder of Siglap village in the early 1800s, and those of his wife and Panglima (“commander-in-chief” in Malay) are the only ones left of a former cemetery.
12
Willing Hearts
1 Lorong J Telok Kurau Singapore 425792
This is the former site of the Telok Kurau East School. Now it is occupied by Willing Hearts, a secular, non-affiliated charity. It is wholly run by volunteers, apart from a handful of staff.
It operates a soup kitchen that prepares, cooks and distributes about 7,000 daily meals to over 70 locations island wide, 365 days a year.
Beneficiaries include the elderly, the disabled, low income families, children from single parent families or otherwise poverty stricken families, and migrant workers in Singapore.
13
CHIJ Katong Convent
346 Marine Terrace, Singapore 449150
https://www.chijkatongconvent.moe.edu.sg/about-us/history-milestones
CHIJ Katong Convent was set up as a private Primary English School in 1930 in a rambling seaside bungalow in Marine Parade.
In 1932, under Sr. St. Theodora, the first Principal, it was given grant-in-aid status with the addition of five classrooms.
The enrolment was 197 pupils, including 26 boys, who were later transferred to St. Patrick’s School in late 1932. Under Sr. St. Vincent de Paul, the school building was extended in 1939 with 8 new classrooms.
In 1982, plans were afoot to upgrade the facilities of the school to meet the school’s growing needs. At the end of 1986, the school shifted from Martia Road to Marine Terrace.
14
St Patrick’s School
490 East Coast Road Singapore 429058
The school was founded in 1933 as a temporary branch school of Saint Joseph’s Institution, another Catholic boys’ school in Singapore.
It was built on land acquired by the La Salle Brothers in 1898 which was originally intended for building a resort bungalow.
Brother Stephen Buckley saw the population growth in eastern Singapore and petitioned the La Salle Brothers to build a school on that piece of land.
The main school building was completed in 1932 and Saint Patrick’s became a school in its own right in 1933.
https://www.stpatricks.moe.edu.sg
15
PCF Sparkletots Preschool @ Joo Chiat (DS)
No. 15 Lorong K Telok Kurau Singapore 425611
This PAP Community Foundation Sparkletots Preschool @ Joo Chiat sits on a 1,928 square metre plot of land leased from the Singapore Land Authority (SLA).
More than $2 million was raised to tear down the more than 50-year-old building and to rebuild it from scratch.
The new campus include an adjacent parcel of land to expand the pre-school’s outdoor play area and was officially opened by Minister Edwin Tong on 28 April 2024.
16
The Yards at Joo Chiat Place
No. 396 Joo Chiat Place. Singapore 428084
This premise started in 1926 as Telok Kurau English School. In 1930 Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew was a pupil there.
The school evolved over the years and became Telok Kurau East School before merging with Telok Kurau Malay School and Telok Kurau West School.
In 1985 the amalgamated school became Telok Kurau Primary School and in 2001 the school vacated this location and merged with Bedok Town Primary School.
It was used as a student hostel for some years and in 2017, The Yards leased the site and transformed into an oasis for enrichment building upon its unique leafy surroundings with open fields and a diverse variety of plants crowned by a majestic kapok tree.
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