Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall

Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall
(维多利亚剧院及音乐会堂)
Address : 9 Empress Place, Singapore 179558

Building Completion date :
1862 - Town Hall
1905 - Victoria Memorial Hall
1906 - Clock Tower
1909 - Victoria Theatre


It was a nice weather Saturday afternoon and I've decided to take some pictures.
I started off from Raffles Place and walked my way to City Hall.
Along the way, I took pictures of buildings, bridges and national monuments.
I've studied history when I was in Secondary School but all was given back to the teacher...
Now I really need to go back to do more research about the country I'm living in.
I felt that I needed to know more about my own country!
There's always so much to learn about the past.
Old buildings were always in one of my interest list for photography.
I think they are all very beautiful with the age of time.
So here is my first post on Historical Places in Singapore.





In 1906, the 54-metre Clock Tower was added to the two buildings.
The Straits Trading Company donated the a clock and chimes.


Description on photo below :
1819 - 1919
This tablet to the memory of Sir Stamford Raffles.
To those foresight and genius Singapore owes its existence and prosperity was unveiled on February 6th 1919.
The 100th Anniversary of the foundation of the settlement.


Description on photo below : This statue erected on the Esplanade in the year 1887 was removed to its present site in the year 1919.


Description on photo below :
VICTORIA THEATRE & CONCERT HALL
Gazetted as a monument on 14 February 1992
Designed by J Bennett and built between 1856 - 1862,
it functioned as the Singapore Town Hall.
Its Memorial Hall and Tower, designed by RAJ Bidwell,
were added in 1905 and the clock and bells installed in 1906.
It was restored by 1970s as a concert hall.


Description on photo below :
CIVIC DISTRICT TRAIL
These two historic performance venues play a vital role in Singapore's cultural life.
The core of the Victoria Theatre (on the left) is the 1862 Town Hall.
Victoria Memorial Hall (on the right) was built as a grand gesture to the memory Queen Victoria in 1905.
Major renovations completed in 1909 included the harmonising of the facade of the older building with the new adjoining structure. The two buildings are linned by a 54-metre clock tower.

The Memorial Hall has many historic associations.
It was used as a hospital during the bombing of Singapore by the Japanese invading troops in 1941-42.
It was also the venue of Japanese war crime trials at the end of WWII in 1945.
During the 1950s, it was the venue for important political events including the inauguration of the People's Action Party on 21 November 1954.

The Hall was renovated in 1979 for the Singapore Symphony Orchestra and was renamed Victoria Concert Hall.
The Theatre was renovated in the mid-1950s and again in the 1990s.




A 1915 Singapore Mutiny Memorial Tablet in Victoria Hall.
(To the memory of those who were killed during the mutiny in Singapore in February 1915)
1915 Singapore Mutiny, also known as the Sepoy Mutiny, 1915 Indian Mutiny or Mutiny of the 5th Native Light Infantry.
On 15 February 1915, during the first world war, an indian army of 850 sepoys revolted, killing more than 40 British officers and local civilians. It lasted about seven days.
Trial on 23 February 1915 and lasted until 15 May 1915.
47 were executed, 64 were transported for life and 73 imprisoned between 7 to 20 years.
A public executions was at Outram Prison and was witnessed by about 15,000 people as reported by the Straits Times.