Raffles Place ( Eng. Raffles Place , Chinese. 莱佛士 坊 , there. ராஃபிள்ஸ் பிளேஸ் ) - a district of Singapore , located south of the mouth of the Singapore River. Located in the business center . Here are some of the tallest buildings in the country, as well as other attractions .
Content
History
The founder of modern Singapore, Stamford Ruffles , intended to turn the city into a trading empire. The center of this empire was to be the district of the city on the southern bank of the river. He appeared on the site of a hidden hill, the land of which was used to form the Boat Turn. Initially, the area was indicated on the map of 1822 as the Market Square.
In 1823 and 1824 this place underwent significant transformations: new buildings grew on the site of empty meadows. As the city’s economy developed, there were more and more of them, and they themselves — all higher. The buildings housed trading companies, banks and financial organizations.
In 1858, the Marketplace was renamed Ruffles Place. The area reached the coast of the Singapore Strait , warehouses began to appear here, allowing you to take goods directly from ships. From 1857 to 1865, the land began to be transferred under commercial offices, which caused a new business growth due to the emergence of retail stores and banks.
Singaporean banks, offering customers reduced credit rates and close cultural traditions, began to compete with large international organizations. In the 1950s, Bank of America (at Raffles Place 31) opened its offices in Singapore and Bank of China (on Battery Street adjacent to Ruffles Place. Malaysia headquarters was established in Raffles Place in the 1960s. Airlines [1] In 1965, United Overseas Bank built its headquarters towers in Raffles Place, which for many years topped the list of tallest buildings in Singapore .
During World War II, Ruffles Place was bombarded by Japanese aircraft . This happened on December 8, 1941 as part of the Malay operation .
With the exception of the Japanese occupation, the development of Ruffles Place continued uninterrupted. In the 1960s and 1970s, stores moved to High Street , North Bridge Road, and Orchard Road , turning Ruffles Place into a financial center. Old buildings replaced the new skyscrapers owned by large banks.
Notable Buildings
Ruffles Place has several well-known buildings, including the OUB Center , Ripablic Plaza , Ruffles Place 1 and the OCBC Center . Nearby are the Fullerton-Hotel-Singapore , housed in a renovated building of the Central Post Office, Merlion , reminiscent of the durian building of the Esplanade Theater and the Singapore Stock Exchange . On the opposite bank, not part of the Ruffles Place, are the buildings of key government bodies: parliament , the Supreme Court and the city administration .
Transport
Right below the Ruffles Place is the Ruffles Place metro station (subway station) . It is the main transport hub, providing the district with the rest of the city. In addition to the subway, Ruffles Place can be reached by bus.
Notes
- ↑ Flight International . 2 April 1964.519 .
Literature
- National Heritage Board. Singapore's 100 Historic Places. - Archipelago Press, 2002. - ISBN 981-4068-23-3 .
Links
- 360 ° X 360 ° interactive virtual tour of Raffles Place . Date of treatment May 25, 2013. Archived on May 26, 2013.
- A street level map of Raffles Place (link not available) . Date of treatment May 25, 2013. Archived on May 26, 2013.