Cathay Building
Encyclopedia
Loke Wan Tho
Loke Wan Tho born in Kuala Lumpur , was a cinema magnate, ornithologist, and photographer. He was the founder of Cathay Organisation in Singapore and Malaysia, and Motion Picture and General Investments Limited in Hong Kong....
as the headquarters for the British Malaya Broadcasting Corporation. Located at 2 Handy Road in the Museum Planning Area
Museum Planning Area
The Museum Planning Area is an urban planning area in the Central Region of Singapore. It is located in the area known as the Civic District. The area plays a "bridging role" between the Orchard Street area and the Downtown Core, which necessitates proper transport networks for vehicles,...
of Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, it was most known for its air-conditioned theatre, then a technological marvel and the first to be built in Singapore.
Cathay Building is also the first and tallest skyscraper not only in Singapore but also in South-East Asia. Height of 79.5 metres
History
The Cathay Building was designed by BritishUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
Frank W Brewer in the 1930s. The building was the first and tallest skyscraper in Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
and in Southeast Asia, with a height of 83.5 metres from the Dhoby Ghaut
Dhoby Ghaut
Dhoby Ghaut is a place in Singapore that often refers to the Dhoby Ghaut MRT Station, a major interchange station on the Mass Rapid Transit of Singapore. Dhoby Ghaut or Dhobi Ghat literally means washing place in Hindi, from dhobi "washerman" or one that does laundry and ghat, generically meaning...
entrance to the top of the building's water tower. Opened on 3 October 1939 as Cathay Building, with a 1,300-seat Cathay Cinema, and the tower block as Cathay Hotel, it was the island's first air-conditioned cinema and public building, and where one could sit in an arm chair to watch a film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
, which was rare in those days.
At the beginning of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
in 1942, the building was converted to a Red Cross casualty station. When Singapore fell to the Japanese
Battle of Singapore
The Battle of Singapore was fought in the South-East Asian theatre of the Second World War when the Empire of Japan invaded the Allied stronghold of Singapore. Singapore was the major British military base in Southeast Asia and nicknamed the "Gibraltar of the East"...
, it was used to house the Japanese Broadcasting Department, the Military Propaganda Department and the Military Information Bureau during the occupation period
Japanese Occupation of Singapore
The Japanese occupation of Singapore in World War II occurred between about 1942 and 1945 after the fall of Singapore on 15 February 1942. Military forces of the Empire of Japan occupied Singapore after defeating the combined Australian, British, Indian and Malayan garrison in the Battle of Singapore...
, utilising the height of the building to broadcast propaganda in the Japanese language
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
in a bid to brainwash the populace. The building was also used as a landmark
Landmark
This is a list of landmarks around the world.Landmarks may be split into two categories - natural phenomena and man-made features, like buildings, bridges, statues, public squares and so forth...
for a final approach for landing at Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
's first purpose-built civilian airport built in 1937, Kallang Airport
Kallang Airport
The Kallang Airport , also known as the Kallang Aerodrome, Kallang Airfield and RAF Kallang, opened in 1937 as Singapore's first purpose-built civil airport, together with an anchorage for seaplanes. Land was reclaimed in the Kallang Basin to turn the swampy area into a circular-shaped airfield and...
.
When the war ended in 1945, it served as the headquarters for Admiral Lord Mountbatten
Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma
Admiral of the Fleet Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas George Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, KG, GCB, OM, GCSI, GCIE, GCVO, DSO, PC, FRS , was a British statesman and naval officer, and an uncle of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh...
while serving as the Supreme Allied Commander South East Asia Theatre
South-East Asian theatre of World War II
The South-East Asian Theatre of World War II was the name given to the campaigns of the Pacific War in Burma , Ceylon, India, Thailand, Indochina, Malaya and Singapore. Conflict in the theatre began when the Empire of Japan invaded Thailand and Malaya from bases located in Indochina on December 8,...
of the South East Asia Command
South East Asia Command
South East Asia Command was the body set up to be in overall charge of Allied operations in the South-East Asian Theatre during World War II.-Background:...
(SEAC). When the SEAC was disbanded a year later, the building was converted back to a cinema and a hotel. The cinema was the first to show American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
films in Singapore. A new air-conditioning plant was installed in the building in 1948.
The Cathay Hotel ceased to exist in the 1950s when it was converted into apartment
Apartment
An apartment or flat is a self-contained housing unit that occupies only part of a building...
s. The building was refaced in 1978 with a new look by STS Leong. The original design was shadowed by the new facade. Cathay Building was the location for the first Orange Julius
Orange Julius
Orange Julius is a chain of fruit drink beverage stores. It has been in business since the late 1920s. The eponymous beverage is a mixture of orange juice, milk, sugar, ice and vanilla flavoring.- History :...
outlet in Singapore, which opened in 1982. In 1990, Cathay Organisation opened Singapore's first arthouse cinema, The Picturehouse adjacent to Cathay Building. The main Cathay cinema was then converted into a two-hall cineplex during that period. Cathay Building and the Picturehouse showed its last movie in 2000 before closing for redevelopment.
Redevelopment and preservation
Cathay announced its plans in the late 1990s to redevelop the whole complex. The front facade of the building was gazetted as a national monumentNational Monuments of Singapore
National Monuments of Singapore are buildings and structures in Singapore that have been designated by the Preservation of Monuments Board as being of special historic, traditional, archaeological, architectural or artistic value....
on 10 February 2003. Thus the new building incorporates conservation of the original art-deco façade of the 1930s combined together with a modern-day avant garde design by Paul Tange of Tange Associates Japan and RDC Architects Pte Ltd Singapore. The Cathay
The Cathay
The Cathay is a mixed-use 17-storey cinema, shopping mall and apartment building located at Handy Road and Mount Sophia in the Museum Planning Area of Singapore. Owned and managed by Cathay Organisation, the building originally opened in 1939 as Cathay Building. In 2000, it closed for redevelopment...
as it is now known, opened on 24 March 2006. The building houses retail, food & beverage outlets and an 8-screen Cathay Cineplex which includes The Picturehouse. The Cathay Residences opened towards the end of 2006.