Saturday 26 November 2011

Junction of Keong Saik Road and Teck Lim Road

Keong Saik Road was named in 1926 after the Malacca-born Chinese businessman, Tan Keong Saik, the son of Tan Choon Tian. The street in Chinatown is named in remembrance to his contribution to the Chinese community.[1]
Keong Saik Road became a prominent red-light district with a high concentration of brothels located in the three-storey high shophouses flanking either side of the street in the 1960s. The street, along with Sago Lane areas became notoriously known as one of the "turfs" operated by the Sio Loh Kuan secret society.[2] The 1990s opened a new chapter for the road, with the site sprouting many "boutique hotels" like Royal Peacock Hotel, Hotel 1929, the Regal Inn and Keong Saik Hotel. Keong Saik Road now mainly houses coffee shops, art galleries and other shops for commercial use.[3]
Keong Saik Road is located within a conservation area known as the Bukit Pasoh Conservation Area, which was given conservation status by the Urban Redevelopment Authority on 7 July 1989. The buildings in the area mainly consist of two and three storey shophouses in transitional, late and art deco architectural styles.[4]
However, now the current Keong Saik Road is a far cry from the district it once was. Pubs, top rated restaurants, martial arts schools have popped in the vicinity and there are little traces of the brothels it was infamous for. The change in human and heritage landscape has been very significant.

Teck Lim Road (Chinese: 德霖路) is named after Chinese businessman Ong Tek Lim, who is the son of Ong Kew Ho. He owned a shop known as Guan Tong (Ong Kew Ho & Company), which was well known for tapioca. Tek Lim was a Justice of Peace and was elected Municipal Commissioner which he held for three years and also gave a scholarship to the Anglo-Chinese School. The road is  a one-way road linking Keong Saik Road to Neil Road in Chinatown within the Outram Planning Area of Singapore. The road is lined with conserved shophouses and houses a number of budget hotels.



1 comment:

  1. Your picture is elaborate! Now with your sketch on it, I can hardly believe it started out as a blank piece of paper!

    The description, though still vaguely linked to Wikipedia, has taught me a lot about these two roads. Can you sketch my house? >_< I want to know about the road I stay in. Who, or what, is it named after? and why?

    Oh yes, your 'tiny distraction' leaves me almost unable to concentrate on writing my comments. I'm going to give him another nut now.

    ReplyDelete