14) Former Joo Chiat Police Station

Former Joo Chiat Police Station 

Address: Katong Village #01-09/10, Singapore 428751

Opening hours (Hong Kong Tea House): 12:00AM to 12:00AM                 

Moving on, we travelled towards the former Joo Chiat Police Station, which is now a Hong Kong Tea House restaurant. 

Upon reaching the place, it would seem that the whole building has been transformed fully to become a restaurant. No one could have known that this restaurant was once a police station without prior knowledge. From the outside, we can get a feel of the ambience within the building, which is definitely not of a police station. However, with further research, it would seem that much of the building's architecture was maintained and preserved.

Picture: Team and Former Joo Chiat Police Station Building

Picture: Former Joo Chiat Police Station 1968

Adapted from: http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/pictures/Details/8e30a2b0-70e8-4151-96ea-c351226cb215

Apart from the lighting from within, we can see that the building itself remains largely similar from 1968. The shape of the entrance, the shape of the windows, they are all relatively similar to the one in 1968. What a beauty!

This police station was built in 1928. According to research, this station was one of the many which was built in response to the rising dominance of Chinese secret societies and triads.  Back in 1928, a sum of money (of $90,000) were approved for the building of the police station in response to the rising population and expansion of the katong area. It was of concern that police activities are difficult to be controlled by one headquarters. Therefore, there is a need to build several other stations and one of it is the joo chiat police station. This is to cater to the command reinforcement of the police force back then, which only comprised of a small police patrol organization. These policemen keeps the streets of the suburbs of Joo Chiat safe.

Picture: Former Joo Chiat Police Station Building

Although the former Joo Chiat Police Station is now converted into a restaurant and a hotel, we are glad that much of the structure or architecture of the building have been preserved. There is definitely significance in maintaining this part of Joo Chiat's history. There This piece of history depicts the actions taken by Singapore against internal threat back in the 1960s. As such, this building itself is a marker of Singapore's resilience, definitely something worthy of preservation.

References

“Film Quota Bill Dropped,” Straits Times (Singapore), Jul. 2, 1928.