I have been doing this for the past few years

My fellow nostalgia/heritage bloggers must have welcomed the news that former civil servant, Mr Quek Tiong  Swee, has donated 8,000 old photos of Singapore to the National Heritage Board. Mr Tiong had the foresight to see that, with Singapore’s rapid development, many places would disappear from the face of Singapore, and so he had captured them on film since the 1980s. I am proud to report that I too have been doing this, albeit in a small scale, for the past few years. Ever since I started blogging about the Singapore that I grew up in, I have been consciously taking photos of places that I suspect might undergo drastic changes shortly. This included old buildings and roads. And I have even encouraged readers of my blog to do the same; as I did here.

Unfortunately, due to lack of time, I did not do it in an organized manner. I seldom take the trouble to go to a place just for the purpose of photographing it; unless I planned to blog about it. Usually, I would take pictures of places that I happen to visit or pass by during the course of my work or leisure. Thankfully, my job requires me to travel all over Singapore, and thus I have many opportunities to do this. Another thing is that, I avoided going to the ‘popular’ places like the Tanjong Pagar Railway Station or the Bukit Brown Cemetery because I know that many people will be taking pictures of them and posting to Facebook or Flickr; and so there was no urgency for me to hop onto the bandwagon.

Regrettably, I may not be able to do this with the same amount of frequency soon because the COE of my car is expiring next month. With COE (Certificate of Entitlement) prices at the crazy levels that they are in, I can’t afford to cough out $80+k to renew my COE or replace it with a new one. But, I’ll still try my best.

Anyway, here are a few photos from my own collection of places/buildings that have already disappeared from the ever-changing landscape of Singapore since 2006. Let’s see how many you can score 10/10.

Let’s not forget them

I would like to greet my dear readers a “Happy New Year” with a not-so-happy photo. May we be reminded, in the year 2013, that there are older Singaporeans in our midst who are like these 3 (what you call this) stumps -  once young, good-looking and located in a place that was once full of life, and surrounded by young happy people. But today they are forgotten, neglected and forlorn. They are not necessarily found in the old age homes. They could be living next door.

Guess where I took this photo.

Can you identify this kampong?

Below are two photos from Geoff Pain. They were taken in the mid-60’s. Can you help me to identify the location please? It is likely to be in the Upper Serangoon/Bartley/Paya Lebar vicinity? Thanks.

Roadside fruit stalls

Last month, Geoffrey Pain sent me some photos of roadside fruit stalls of the 60’s. He only knows the location of one of the photos but I think they are all from the same place. What do you think? Where were these photos taken?

Hint: According to Geoffrey, Photo no. 3 (not no. 1) was taken at Queen Street. The place looks familiar but I can't place exactly which part of Queen Street.

Here's a close up view of the car that Peter, Russ and I are debating about (see comments). Is it a Ford Cortina?

Can you identify this street?

I just received these two 1960’s photos from Geoffrey Pain. Can you identify this place? I couldn’t, and that’s why I had to consult my friend Peter Chan. From his answer I was able to check out this place using Google Map’s Street View and give you a “second shot” of this place.

Additional question – What is the name of the tower-like building at the end of the street (left side)?

Another old petrol station quiz

I think I will continue with my copycat ways and post a photo of an old petrol station just as my friend Victor has done here.

Question. Where is this petrol station located?

Hint: I used to pass by it regularly on my way to camp more than 30 years ago.

New bridge quiz

I think I should be a copycat and also begin the new year with a ‘bridge’ quiz like my friend Icemoon. However, since the year is new, I shall use a new bridge instead. Unlike Icemoon’s disused bridge, this one is heavily used.

Hint: I did not have to do any dangerous stunt like climbing under the bridge to take this photo. I took it from a very public area surrounded by many tourists. Actually I did not take this photo with the mind of blogging. I just liked the pattern of the columns – or whatever you call those concrete things.

Can you identify this place?

The photo below was taken around 1965 to 1967 by Geoffrey Pain’s father. Where exactly is this place?

UPDATED – 29 Dec 2010

I think the unanimous answer is: North Pier and Telok Ayer Basin. Most people know about Clifford Pier; but North Pier and South Pier are not so well-known. Further down; at the end of Prince Edward Road was Finger Pier.

Below are 3 more photos showing the same place from different directions. North Pier is the one where there is a building with white roof.

Photo No. 1 – Clifford Pier and North Pier viewed from the East; probably Fullerton Building. (Photo credit: Memories of Singapore)

Photo No. 2 – Aerial photo of Clifford Pier and North Pier viewed from the South. (Photo credit: Memories of Singapore)

Photo No. 3 – Aerial photo of Clifford Pier and North Pier viewed from the West. (Photo credit: National Archives of Singapore)

By the way, does anyone know why the two piers are named North and South Pier? I thought East and West Pier would be more appropriate.

Where exactly is this place (1)?

Photo No. 1

Among the photos that Geoffry Pain sent me was this one taken by his dad around 1965 to 67. I have been cracking my head, trying to figure where exactly is this place.

a) The road sign says, Grange Road. Looking through my old street directories, I would guess that the road on the right is Orchard Road. But if this was the junction of Grange Road and Orchard Road, then where is Mandarin Hotel and Orchard Theatre?

b) If this is not the junction of Grange Road and Orchard Road, then what is the name of the road on the right and what is that building in this photo? I know for sure that Orchard Theatre was already up in 1967 because I saw the movie Sound of Music there in 1966 or thereabouts. But I’m not sure about Mandarin Hotel.

Photo No. 2

This 1960 photo of Orchard Road was sent to me by Roger White together with another photo of a Lockheed Super Constellation on the tarmac at Paya Lebar in 1960/61 (which I will share with you another time).

Question: Where exactly is this place?