When RemSG blog was first set up in October 2010, it was largely due to the inspiration by the excellent Old Places documentary (by local director Royston Tan). Lamenting the loss of the good old National Library and other iconic landmarks, as well as a growing sentiment of nostalgia, there was a strong need to document some of the disappearing things in Singapore.
A decade has since passed in a blink of eye. While this year 2020 is certainly not the best year to remember, the coming new decade is still very much worth looking forward to. But let us first do a recap of the past 10 years – what are the new changes, and what had vanished into history.
Attractions
For major landmarks and attractions, Singapore added the Marina Bay Sands (MBS) to its city skyline in 2010, when it was officially opened on 23 June. It would have another grand opening on 17 February 2011. A year later, on 21 December 2012, it was the grand opening of Singapore’s other integrated resort Resorts World Sentosa (RWS), which brought along the popular Universal Studios (opened in 2010) and S.E.A. Aquarium (2012).
Two more places of interest – Gardens by the Bay and the River Safari – opened in 2012 and 2014 respectively. In 2019, Singapore welcomed its latest attraction in the $1.7 billion Jewel Changi Airport, which is designed with the world’s tallest indoor waterfall named the Rain Vortex.

While the new attractions are welcomed, we also bid goodbye to some of the older attractions. Sentosa, as the popular tourist destination, has seen the demise of its Underwater World (1991-2016), Tiger Sky Tower (2004-2018) and the gigantic 37m-tall Merlion (1995-2019) in the past decade.
They had joined the fate of the past iconic attractions and landmarks of Sentosa, such as the Monorail, Musical Fountain, Fountain Gardens, Asian Village, Fantasy Island and Volcanoland.

The Maritime Experiential Museum (2011-2020) of RWS, on the other hand, was opened in 2011 but dissolved in March 2020. It will make way for the extension of the S.E.A. Aquarium, which will be rebranded as the Singapore Oceanarium.
Malls & Commercial Buildings
“The only constant in life is change.” A perfect description for Singapore as well, where changes and redevelopments happen every year. Dozens of landmarks and buildings were demolished, redeveloped and replaced by the newer ones.
Starting the list are several decades-old malls. Eminent Plaza (1980s-2014) was pulled down in 2014, together with its neighbour Lavender Food Square along Jalan Besar, and was replaced by a new office tower called ARC 380.
Along Serangoon Road, Serangoon Plaza (1960s-2017), formerly known as President Shopping Centre, ceased to exist after more than 50 years. It was sold for $400 million in 2013, and was demolished in 2017. A new Centrium Square is expected to emerge at its site by late 2021.

Park Mall (1971-2016), a popular destination for furniture and home furnishings, was brought down in 2016. Located at Penang Road, it was first opened as Supreme House. Evolving from retail to fashion and finally a furniture mall, it eventually walked into history after 45 years. Standing in its place now is Citadines Connect City Centre.
Chinatown Plaza (1983-2019) at Craig Road was sold for $260 million in May 2018, and demolition works began a year later.
The Verge (2003-2017), or formerly Tekka Mall, situated along Selegie Road, lasted only 14 years, making it one of the shortest-lived shopping malls in Singapore. Standing in its place will be the new Tekka Place, an integrated commercial and residential complex.

Near the short-lived mall was the former Tiger Balm Building (1930s-2019), a longtime landmark at the junction of Selegie Road and Short Street. The four storey building was torn down in 2019, after more than 70 years of existence.

Pearls Centre (1977-2016), located along Eu Tong Sen Street, was closed in 2015 and torn down a year later. The complex was well-known for its retail shops, eateries and a softcore cinema named Yangtze Theatre.

The old Funan Centre (1985-2016), a popular place for IT gadgets. was rejuvenated in 2016. The old building was torn down and replaced with Funan Mall, a new mixed used development complex, with retail mall, office towers and service apartments.
One of the most recent commercial buildings to be affected by redevelopment projects was Liang Court (1985-early 2020s), a mixed complex of mall, hotel (Novotel Singapore Clarke Quay) and service apartments. Located at River Valley Road, its twin brown towers have been an iconic landmark along the Singapore River since 1985. With most of its tenants moved out in early 2020, the 35-year-old Liang Court will be pulled down soon.
Same goes for Shaw Tower (1976-early 2020s) at Beach Road, whose tenants received the redevelopment news in 2018 and have moved out of the premises in June 2020. The demolition may be carried out in the near future.

Residential Housing
Coming up in the 2020s are the Tengah New Town and Bidadari Estate, developed by the Housing and Development Board (HDB). The Tengah New Town will comprise five housing districts with 42,000 Built-to-Order (BTO) flats, whereas the Bidadari Estate will have 10,000 units.
In the midst of the ongoing construction of the new towns and housing estates, the older ones are being phased out. Dakota Crescent (1958-early 2020s) and Redhill Close (1955-early 2020s) are now vacant and boarded up, with their Singapore Improvement Trust (SIT) flats awaiting for demolition. Tanglin Halt will soon join them as we move into the new decade.


And at Tanglin Halt, a row of its Commonwealth Drive HDB flats (1962-2016), fondly known as chup lau chu (“ten storey houses” in Hokkien), had already been torn down. Many of the other residents as well as the small shopowners and businesses in the small neighbourhood have also started to move out.


Elsewhere, the Rochor Centre HDB Flats (1977-2019), a prominent colourful landmark located at junction of Rochor Road and Ophir Road, were emptied by end-2016 and demolished three years later.

Dozen of other HDB flats had been selected and demolished under the Selective En-Bloc Redevelopment Scheme (SERS) in the past decade.
These flats were located at Sims Drive, Clementi Avenue 1 and 5, Boon Lay Drive, Teban Gardens, Yung Ping Road, Henderson Road, Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1, Ghim Moh Road, Zion Road, Havelock Road, Upper Boon Keng Road, Toa Payoh Lorong 5 and Commonwealth Avenue.


The old Woodlands Town Centre (1980-2017), a small neighbourhood that was located just beside the Causeway and had functioned for many years as the stopover for commuters between Singapore and Johor, was gone by 2017, together with its flats, shops, hawker centre, bus interchange and Woodlands Cinema.

Beside the en-bloc HDB flats, several Housing and Urban Development Company (HUDC) estates had also been sold through collective sales, with their sites redeveloped into new condominiums.
Shunfu Ville (1986-2016), Eunosville (1987-2017), Raintree Gardens (1984-2016), Rio Casa (1986-2017) and Serangoon Ville (1986-2017) were all torn down in the past 10 years, with the latest being Normanton Park (1977-2018).


At Jalan Kayu, the redevelopment of Seletar West Farmway into a light industrial estate has seen the demolition of one of Singapore’s last rural centres. The low rise flats of the former Jalan Kayu Rural Centre (late 1970s-2016) were used as foreign worker dormitories in their final few years.

Stadiums
The good old National Stadium (1973-2010) was demolished as Singapore entered the decade of 2010s. It had given many Singaporeans the fond memories of the Malaysia Cup matches and the famous Kallang Roar. In its place now is the Singapore Sports Hub.

Jurong Stadium (1973-2020), also constructed in 1973, fared a decade better, as it lasted until 2020, although in its last few years, it was in a state of disrepair with only a few events and activities held.
Swimming Pools
A number of public swimming pools had met their demise in the past 10 years. Buona Vista Swimming Complex (1976-2014) and Bedok Swimming Complex (1981-2018) were demolished after more than 30 years of serving the residents. Elsewhere, the Old Police Academy Swimming Pool (1976-2015) made way in 2015 for the new Mount Pleasant MRT Station.


Bus Interchanges
The Bulim Bus Depot, Loyang Bus Depot and Seletar Bus Deport are new bus depots that are built by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) between 2015 and 2018. Several old bus interchanges are also upgraded to new integrated public transport hubs.
The old Bedok Bus interchange (1979-2011), in 2011, was torn down and replaced by an integrated development of condominium, bus interchange and shopping mall that are linked to the Bedok MRT Station.
Similarly, the old Yishun Bus Interchange (1987-2015) was demolished in 2015. It took four years for its site to be redeveloped into North Park Residences, Northpoint City and a fully air-conditioned bus interchange.

Elsewhere, the old Jurong East Bus Interchange (1985-2011) had its former site occupied by Westgate, whereas the previous Bukit Panjang Bus Interchange (1999-2012) was replaced by Hillion Mall and Hillion Residences. Both new towns are still using temporary bus interchanges built near the old ones.
Meanwhile, the Serangoon Bus Interchange (1988-2011), after its bus operations were ceased in 2011, has its building converted into a multi-storey carpark and community hub.
Hawker Centre/Eateries
Local food lovers may lament the loss of several popular hawker centres and eateries in Singapore in the past 10 years.
The Commonwealth Avenue Food Centre (1969-2011), Long House Food Centre (1980-2014), Lavender Food Square (1980s-2014) (previously called Bugis Square) and Market Street Food Centre (1984-2017), or fondly known as Golden Shoe Hawker Centre, had all but faded into the history.


The Golden Bridge (1973-2015) at Shenton Way was a unique one. It was one of the few overhead bridges in Singapore that housed eateries. It was eventually closed in 2014 and demolished a year later.
Cinemas
Numerous neighbourhood cinemas were, by the 2000s and 2010s, a pale shadow of their former selves; their heydays in the eighties and nineties were never going to return.
The Queenstown/Queensway Cinema (1977-1999, demolished in 2013) was torn down in 2013 as Queenstown underwent intensive redevelopment. At the east side, Bedok’s Princess Cinema (1983-2008, demolished in 2018) was closed in 2008 and had its building bulldozed a decade later. In its place now is DjitSun Bedok Mall.


Likewise, many buildings of former cinemas, such as Regal Theatre at Bukit Merah Town Centre, Republic Theatre at Marine Parade Road, Empress Cinema at Clementi Town Centre, Singapura Cinema at Changi Road, Hollywood Theatre at Tanjong Katong and New Crown/New Town Cinema at Ang Mo Kio Town Centre, were all demolished in the 2010s, many years after their closure.

Playgrounds
By the 2010s, there were only a few sand-based playgrounds left in Singapore. The Toa Payoh dragon playground, the most iconic of all, was fortunately retained during the demolition of its nearby HDB flats (Block 28, 30, 32 and 33).
The little sparrow playground at Clementi Town Centre, however, was removed when several of its neighbouring old blocks were torn down.

At Bukit Batok, the dove playground was also demolished in the early 2010s, replaced by a new modern playground. The other dove playground at Dakota Crescent may also meet the same fate now that the former SIT estate is undergoing redevelopment.
But it was the pelican playground, the last in Singapore, at Dover Road that had many Singaporeans lamenting its loss. Abandoned and dilapidated, it was eventually flattened in mid-2012.

For many, the merry-go-rounds were their favourite part of a typical old playground. Two of them had disappeared in the past decade – one at Upper Seletar Reservoir, and the other, an authentic merry-go-round that were commonly seen in the eighties and nineties, at Begonia Road.
The merry-go-round at Tiong Bahru’s train playground is the last existing piece in Singapore.

Schools
Numerous schools, active as well as former campuses, were demolished in the past decade. Braddell-Westlake Secondary School (merged in 2000, closed in 2005) at Braddell Road had been left vacant for many years and was eventually bulldozed in 2017. A new campus for Raffles Girls’ School has since being built at its former site.

First Toa Payoh Secondary School (1968-2016), Toa Payoh’s first ever secondary school, had several mergers after 2000. After its last merger, with Bartley Secondary School, it officially walked into history and was demolished in 2017.

The former school premises of Broadrick Secondary School and Maju Secondary School at Dakota Crescent (1968-2016) were briefly used by Northlight School between 2007 and 2015, when Broadrick and Maju Secondary Schools merged and relocated to another nearby campus. The old school buildings were demolished in 2016.
At other places, the school premises of former Ang Mo Kio North Primary School (1983-2019), used by Chaoyang School in recent years, and the former Institute of Technical Education (ITE) Bishan (1994-2013) (acted as the holding campus for Saint Joseph’s Institution between 2013 and 2019), located at the junction of Bishan Street 13 and 14, were both torn down in 2019.

The former Outram Campus of Nanyang Polytechnic (1992-1998) along Jalan Bukit Merah was left abandoned for more than a decade, before it was leveled in 2016 with its site becoming part of the expanded Singapore General Hospital (SGH).
In 2017, the Ministry of Education (MOE) announced that a number of schools would be subjected to mergers, including the junior colleges (JC). It was the first time in history that JCs were merged and several names had since walked into the history books.
In 2019, Jurong Junior College (1981-2019) was merged with Pioneer Junior College (2000-2019) to form Jurong Pioneer Junior College, located at Teck Whye Walk. Serangoon Junior College (1988-2019) was merged into Anderson Junior College, whereas Tampines Junior College (1986-2019) and Innova Junior College (2005-2019) combined with Meridian Junior College and Yishun Junior College respectively.
Roads
Changes also occurred in Singapore’s extensive road network. A new expressway – Marina Coastal Expressway (MCE) – was opened in December 2013 as Singapore’s 10th expressway. The construction of a new North-South Corridor (NSC) is underway.
Tuas South Boulevard, built in the early 2010s, became Singapore’s westernmost road. Lornie Highway was completed in 2019, after the exhumation of thousands of graves at Bukit Brown Cemetery.
A 1.5km section of the old Punggol Road has been undergoing the pedestrianisation project to become part of Punggol’s heritage trail.
While there are new roads built, some old ones became defunct and were expunged. In end 2016 and mid-2017 respectively, the roads in Sentosa and Tanah Merah Coast Road became Singapore’s first public roads to have dedicated cycling lanes. The redevelopment of Tanah Merah Coast Road also meant that the long and straight Changi Coast Road, beside Changi Airport’s runway, would be closed after 2017.

In the early 2010s, due to the development of the Seletar Aerospace Park, a new road called Seletar Aerospace Drive appeared, replacing many old roads and becoming the main access road in the vicinity.
A section of Tanglin Halt Close was closed in 2018. The single lane-dual carriageway Old Upper Thomson Road, in 2019, became a part carriageway-part Park Connector Network (PCN) road. And the most recent was the closure of the decades-old Jurong Road to make way for the development of Tengah New Town.

MRT/LRT
In the past decade, the Downtown Line (DTL) became Singapore’s fifth Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line in operation. It was opened in 2013 and, till date, consists of 34 stations. The sixth line Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL) has debuted in January 2020, and is expected to primarily completed by 2024.
Meanwhile, the East-West Line is upgraded with a Tuas West Extension (from Joo Koon to Tuas Link), completed in 2017.

For the Light Rail Transit (LRT), the Ten Mile Junction station (1999-2019) of the Bukit Panjang LRT (BPLRT) was closed in January 2019, becoming the first MRT/LRT operational station to close permanently. The underutilised LRT station has been converted into a testing ground for the replacement of LRT trains.
SAF Camps
The Ayer Rajah Camp (1940s-2010) at Portsdown Road was closed in 2010. The vicinity underwent huge changes, where new road networks were built and Fusionopolis, Biopolis and Mediapolis developed. Mediapolis, a MediaCorp campus, was officially opened in 2015 near the site of the former Ayer Rajah Camp.
Elsewhere in Singapore, old vacant army camps such as Haig Camp and Old Keat Hong Camp were also demolished in the 2010s. The site of Haig Camp is now vacant, but the Old Keat Hong Camp had been replaced by a new Choa Chu Kang HDB neighbourhood.

In 2012, the old barracks at the Singapore Armed Forces Training Institute (SAFTI) were demolished. Seletar West Camp (1930s-2013) also gave way in 2013 to the development of Seletar Aerospace Park.
The Ordnance Supply Base along Kranji Road (1930s-2013), formerly part of the Kranji Heritage Trail, was torn down towards the mid of 2010s. The area is earmarked for further light industrial development.

Parks
Many new parks have been developed and opened in Singapore, such as the new Thomson Nature Park and the rejuvenated Sembawang Hot Spring Park.
The Kampong Java Park (1973-2018), on the other hand, walked into the history in 2018. Located near Kandang Kerbau (KK) Women’s and Children’s Hospital, it had to make way for the construction of the North-South Corridor tunnel.

Businesses
Many small traditional businesses have struggled in Singapore. Today, there are not many shops selling music CDs, DVDs, comics, magazines and second hand books, largely due to the shift in technology or consumers’ behaviours. The Covid-19 pandemic and the economic recession have unfortunately led to more closure of businesses in Singapore.
For books, Borders exited Singapore in 2011 when its flagship bookstore at Wheelock Place and Parkway Parade were shut down in August and September that year. The good old second hand bookstore Sunny Bookshop, with outlets at Far East Plaza and Plaza Singapura, was closed in 2014.
The MPH Bookstores, hugely popular from the seventies to nineties, closed its Raffles City and Parkway Parade stores in July and September 2019, but did make a comeback at SingPost Centre a couple of months later. But earlier, in 2017, its longtime store (1976-2017) at Robinson Road had to shut down due to the redevelopment of its landlord Afro-Asia Building (1955-2017).

The year 2019 also saw a wave of closure in some iconic longtime bookstores, such as the Books Kinokuniya’s outlet at Liang Court (1983-2019) and Popular’s bookstore at Thomson Plaza (1988-2019).
77th Street (1988-2016), a local business in fashion and streetwear, used to have 16 stores in Singapore during its heydays. Its first outlet was a legendary one at Far East Plaza, where many teenagers would patronise it to buy the latest trendy apparel and accessories in the nineties.
Singapore’s longtime department store John Little (1845-2016) had been in business for 174 years, but their last store, at Plaza Singapura, was closed at the end of 2016.
Local hardware chain Home-Fix, established in 1993, was a familiar sight at many shopping malls. But in 2019, all its brick and mortar stores were closed as the company shifted its operations to the online platform.
There were more bad news in 2020, as familiar homegrown brands such as SportsLink (1983-2020) and Bakerzin (1998-2020) could not survive and had to close all their outlets.

Foreign brands like Forever 21 (fashion), Sasa (cosmetic), Fancl (cosmetic), Francfranc (lifestyle) were either closed down or exited the Singapore market in the 2010s. Topshop/Topman (fashion), in Singapore for 20 years since 2000, closed all its physical stores in 2020, and shifted to the online mode.
Carrefour (1997-2012), which had a hypermart at Suntec City, pulled out in 2012 after 15 years of business in Singapore. HMV (1997-2015), once Singapore’s largest music retailer, shut down its last store at Marina Square in 2015.
For food and beverage (F&B) business, the fast food has always been a favourite for many Singaporeans. A&W was the first to enter the local market, in 1966. They exited in 2003, but made a much anticipated comeback in 2019, with their new outlets opened at Jewel Changi and Ang Mo Kio Hub.
McDonald’s and KFC were the latecomers, making their debuts in Singapore in the late seventies. But some of their longtime outlets went on to become a place of fond memories for many Singaporeans.

The McDonald’s at East Coast Park’s Marine Cove (1982-2012) and King Albert Park (1991-2014) had become a landmark of their own over the years. But both walked into the history in the early 2010s. They were later replaced by a brand new McDonald’s (opened in 2016) and KAP Residences respectively.

Meanwhile, the KFC outlet at Bedok Central (1980s-2020) was a familiar sight for many. After more than 30 years, it was closed for good in July 2020. A new food court has since occupied its space.
Wendy’s (1980s, 2009-2015) twice attempted the Singapore market but could not last. It made a comeback in Singapore in 2009, opening as many as 11 outlets, but had closed all by 2015.
And not forgetting other popular restaurants that had ceased their operations in the past decade, such as Sizzler (1992-2012), The Cafe Cartel (closed in 2014) and Billy Bombers (closed in 2017).
For local ones, Singapore’s largest halal foodcourt operator Banquet (1999-2014) wound up its business in 2014 after falling into deep debts. During its peak, it had 46 food courts across Singapore.
The iconic Prima Tower Revolving Restaurant (1977-2020) at Keppel Road, impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, had decided to shutter its door in August 2020 after 43 years in business.

Nostalgic confectionery shop Chin Mee Chin, with its popular kopi, toast, puffs and egg tarts, ceased its business in early 2019 and has since been put up for sale.

Other old eateries with nostalgic settings were South Buona Vista Road’s Lim Seng Lee Duck Rice Eating House (1968-2013) and Clementi Road’s Union Farm Eating House (1953-2017).
Lim Seng Lee Duck Rice Eating House, with its signature boneless braised duck, closed in 2013 following the retirement of its owner. But the owner’s brother-in-law managed to revive the brand with a new store at Sam Leong Road.
Meanwhile, Union Farm Eating House started as a chicken farm in the fifties, and came to prominence with its paper-wrapped chicken. The kampong-styled eating house was no more by 2017, but the owner has reopened his business at a kopitiam at Jurong East.

Tong Ah Eating House (1939-2013), housed in the iconic pre-war shophouse at the junction of Keong Saik Road and Teck Lim Road, was a familiar traditional eatery for many Singaporeans for over half a century. It was closed in 2013, but has reopened in one of the nearby shophouses along Keong Saik Road.
The building continues to live on as an iconic landmark in the vicinity after the departure of its longtime tenant, and is now home to Potato Head, a burger and cocktail joint with an open-air rooftop bar.

Another old school coffeeshop Hup Lee (1950s-2017), located at Jalan Besar, was closed for good due to dwindling business and the retirement of its owner.

Near the Hup Lee kopitiam was Sungei Road, where the flea market (1930s-2017), after almost 80 years, was ordered to close for good in 2017. In the past few decades, the makeshift market was cleared several times, but had always made a comeback. But this time round, it was gone forever.

Hotels
Before the impact of Covid-19 in 2020, several hotels had already ceased their operations in the previous 10 years. Copthorne Orchid Hotel (1969-2011), at Dunearn Road, was closed and demolished in 2011, replaced by new condominium The Glyndebourne.

Tanjong Katong’s Lion City Hotel (1968-2011) was taken over for $313 million by UOL Group in the early 2010s; OneKM Mall is now standing at its former site.
The Sloane Court Hotel (1962-2018), famous for its cottage-style appearance and Western food restaurant, was closed in 2018. Sloane Residences is currently being built in its place.

Others
Geylang Serai Malay Village (1989-2011), along Geylang Road, was shut down and demolished in 2011 after years of losses. In its place is Wisma Geylang Serai, housing the Geylang Serai Community Centre and Malay Heritage Gallery.

When the railway lands were returned to Singapore in 2011, the plans were to convert them into a Green Corridor. Hence, by the mid-2010s, most of the former railway tracks and facilities were dismantled, including the iconic railway traffic light system at Bukit Panjang and the overhead railway bridge at Hillview.

The former Bukit Merah SAFRA (Singapore Armed Forces Reservist Association) Clubhouse (1982-2011), situated at the junction of Jalan Bukit Merah and Alexandra Road, was knocked down in 2011 for the construction of Alexandra Central Mall and Park Hotel.

The peace of Jalan Kayu and Seletar West Farmway areas were disrupted when a new Seletar West Road, leading to the new Seletar Aerospace Park, was constructed in 2012.
During the construction of the new road and the realignment of Jalan Kayu, the former Jalan Kayu Post Office building (1950s-2012), used as a rehabilitation centre and kindergarten in its last few years, was demolished.

The neighbouring florist and fish farms were also affected; they were either relocated to other places, or closed for good.
For example, Summer Koi Farm and Sea View Aquarium were closed in 2012 and 2018 respectively and have relocated to Chencharu Link. Others chose to cease their operations followed by the retirement of their old owners.

The hauntingly beautiful yet mysterious bungalow Matilda House (1902-2012) had been standing in the wilderness of Punggol for decades, before it was turned into a clubhouse for new condominium A Treasure Trove after 2012.

The exotic Tan Moh Hong Reptile Skin and Crocodile Farm (1945-2012) along Upper Serangoon Road ended their trade in 2012, with its land sold to be redeveloped into freehold terrace houses called Surin Villas.

The MacAlister Terrace and MacAlister Flats at the compounds of the Singapore General Hospital (SGH) were demolished in 2013. A large carpark has been built in the vicinity after that.

Singapore’s second driving test centre, Queenstown Driving Test Centre (1968-2011), was torn down in 2016 for the development of a new condominium called Queens Peak Condo. After the closure of the driving centre in 1995, the building was used as the Queenstown Neighbourhood Police Centre.

The buildings of the former Paya Lebar Police Station (1930s-2016) and the nearby Lorong Lew Lian shophouses were leveled in 2016. A new condominium called Forest Wood Residences will be occupying the site by 2021.


The Transit Road shophouses, with popular tattoo parlours and shops selling army stuff, was a familiar sight for many National Service (NS) personnel booking in and out of the Nee Soon Camp. Most of the shops had closed in 2015, and the shophouses demolished two years later. The area is now occupied by Forest Hills Condominium and Roots @Transit Condo.

Several other old shophouses also made way for redevelopment, such as the ones along Upper Serangoon Road (opposite Potong Pasir), where the stretch is now occupied by Sennett Residence and Sant Ritz.
The row of shophouses near the junction of Alexandra Road and Commonwealth Avenue – it had a popular eatery selling wanton mee – made way for Alexis, a condominium completed in 2014.
As part of the redevelopment plans for East Coast Park, the Island Park Resort chalets, or fondly known as the East Coast Park chalets (1980s-2017), were demolished in 2017. A new bicycle park with trails and circuits will be built.

Half of Sin Ming Industrial Estate was flattened in 2017. Many motor workshops at Sin Ming Industrial Estate Sector A and B were relocated to the nearby Sin Ming AutoCity complex. The vacant land is now reserved for future residential redevelopment by HDB.

Part of Bestway Building (1956-2018), also the former Singapore Polytechnic campus, made way in 2018 for the construction of Shenton Way Bus Terminal.
The Toa Payoh Rise apartments (1960s-2018), originally used as the housing quarters for the medical staff of Toa Payoh Hospital, were demolished in 2018 as they stood in the way of the new North-South Corridor (NSC).

At Silat Avenue, the low-rise SIT flats (1950s-2018) were integrated into the new Avenue South Residence project. Eight flats were demolished in 2018, while five were conserved and refurbished into heritage units for the new condominium. The new private residence will also consist of two 56-storey towers expected to be completed in 2023.

Mount Vernon Sanctuary and Columbarium (1970s-2018) was closed in 2018 and make way for the development of the new Bidadari housing estate.

The iconic former National Aerated Water Company building (1954-1990s) along Serangoon Road was sold in 2016. Like the Matilda House, its façade would be conserved and integrated into a new condominium named Jui Residences, whose name refers to water in Hokkien – a commemoration to the former company and building. The redevelopment works had kicked off in 2018.

Further down Serangoon Road was Singapore’s oldest pedestrian overhead bridge, built in 1967. However, it was dismantled in 2019.

The list ends with Pearl Bank Apartments (1976-2019), an iconic landmark with a unique architectural design standing at the Outram vicinity for four decades. It was demolished in 2019, and in a few years’ time, a new One Pearl Bank will be standing in its place as the new landmark.

What else in Singapore that you are most familiar of had changed or vanished in the past 10 years?
Published: 23 October 2020
Updated: 8 November 2020