Singapore Town Hall

The original building on this site, erected between 1856 and 1862, functioned as the Singapore Town Hall and later became the theatre; it was designed by John Bennett and it contained the Municipal Offices until 1893. In 1905, the Memorial Hall and tower, in the same style, were skillfully joined to the existing theatre by R.A.J Bidwell of Swan & Maclaren. The addition was made in the commemoration of the late Queen Victoria. In 1953-1954, the theatre was completely renovated and airconditioned and, between 1978 and 1980, both halls underwent further improvements. In 1979, a gallery was added to the Concert Hall, giving it a total seating capacity of 937. The additional work has been carried out in some sympathy with the character of the original buildings.
T.Woolner's sculpture of Sir Stamford Raffles, orginally unveiled on the Padang in 1587 by Frederick A.weld(on the 50th anniversary of Queen Victoria's accession), was moved to its present position in front of the halls and unvieled there by Sir arthur Young, the Governor during World War 1, on Centenary Day, 6 February 1919. It was surrounded by a semicular colonnade(in the Italian Renaissance style) and a pool. After the fall of Singapore on 15 February 1942, the colonnade was destroyed and the statue removed to the National Museum(then the Raffles Museum), where it stayed untill the liberation.
The hall was officially opened by the Governor, Sir John anderson, on 18 October 1905 and the clock and the chime of bells in the tower were installed in 1906.
Bits and pieces of information...
The "Vic" was orginally designated as a Town Hall. The People's Action Party had its inaugural meeting in the hall on 21 November 1954. It was not until the seventies that Victoria Memorial Hall was renovated to serve as a concert hall.
The National safety First Council of singapore, as it was then called, was inaugurated on the 1st July 1966 at the victoria memorial Hall by Doctor Goh Keng Swee, the then Singapore's Minister of Defence.