Hill Street
Encyclopedia
Street
A street is a paved public thoroughfare in a built environment. It is a public parcel of land adjoining buildings in an urban context, on which people may freely assemble, interact, and move about. A street can be as simple as a level patch of dirt, but is more often paved with a hard, durable...
in the downtown
Downtown Core
The Downtown Core is a 266-hectare urban planning area in the south of the city-state of Singapore. The Downtown Core surrounds the mouth of the Singapore River and southeastern portion of its watershed, and is part of the Central Area, Singapore's central business district...
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...
starting from Eu Tong Sen Street
Eu Tong Sen Street
Eu Tong Sen Street is a one-way road located in the central part of Singapore in the planning areas of Outram, Singapore River and Bukit Merah...
and ending at Stamford Road
Stamford Road
Stamford Road is a one-way road in Singapore within the planning areas of Downtown Core and Museum. The road continues after the traffic light junction of Nicoll Highway, Esplanade Drive and Raffles Avenue towards Orchard Road. It then ends at the junction of Fort Canning Road, Bencoolen Street...
, where the road becomes Victoria Street
Victoria Street, Singapore
Victoria Street [Tamil]: விக்டோரியா ஸ்திரீட் is a street located in the Central Area of Singapore. The street starts at Victoria Bridge at the end of Kallang Road, after the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority building, in the north and continues as Hill Street at its junction with Stamford Road...
. The road starts after Coleman Bridge and at the junction of River Valley Road, North Boat Quay, Eu Tong Sen Street
Eu Tong Sen Street
Eu Tong Sen Street is a one-way road located in the central part of Singapore in the planning areas of Outram, Singapore River and Bukit Merah...
and New Bridge Road
New Bridge Road
New Bridge Road is a one-way road located within the Central Area in Singapore.New Bridge Road starts at the Coleman Bridge to the south of the Singapore River and extends into Chinatown within the Outram Planning Area, before joining with Eu Tong Sen Street and Kampong Bahru Road within the Bukit...
.
Built shortly after Stamford Raffles
Stamford Raffles
Sir Thomas Stamford Bingley Raffles, FRS was a British statesman, best known for his founding of the city of Singapore . He is often described as the "Father of Singapore"...
founded the trading post 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...
, the character of the name comes from the fact as it was located at the foot of Government Hill (now the Fort Canning
Fort Canning
Fort Canning is a small hill slightly more than 60 metres high in the southeast portion of the island city-state of Singapore, within the Central Area that forms Singapore's central business district...
). Hill Street is home to several landmarks including the Armenian Church
Armenian Church, Singapore
The Armenian Church is the oldest Christian church in Singapore, located at Hill Street in the Museum Planning Area, within the Central Area, Singapore's central business district.-History:George Drumgoole Coleman, overseer of Convicts and Superintendent of Public Works, was the architect of many of...
, Central Fire Station
Central Fire Station, Singapore
The Central Fire Station is the oldest existing fire station in Singapore, and is located at Hill Street in the Museum Planning Area, within the Central Area, Singapore's central business district.-History:...
, Old Hill Street Police Station
Old Hill Street Police Station
The Old Hill Street Police Station is a historic building in Singapore, and is located at Hill Street in the Museum Planning Area, within the Central Area, Singapore's central business district.-History:...
and the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce. The Old Hill Street Police Station is now home to the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts
Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts
The Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts is a ministry of the Government of Singapore...
.
Hill Street was formerly home to a hawker centre
Hawker centre
A hawker centre or cooked food centre is the name given to open-air complexes in Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and Riau Islands housing many stalls that sell a variety of inexpensive food...
which was built in 1984, and government offices
Government of Singapore
The Government of Singapore is defined by the Constitution of the Republic of Singapore to mean the Executive branch of government, which is made up of the President and the Cabinet of Singapore. Although the President acts in his personal discretion in the exercise of certain functions as a check...
until the building was demolished in 2002.
The Chinese
Chinese people
The term Chinese people may refer to any of the following:*People with Han Chinese ethnicity ....
gave the street two names, one of which was ong kes swa kha or "foot of Government Hill" where the Governor's residence was located on the Government Hill. The other name was tiau kio thau or "at the end of the suspension bridge
Suspension bridge
A suspension bridge is a type of bridge in which the deck is hung below suspension cables on vertical suspenders. Outside Tibet and Bhutan, where the first examples of this type of bridge were built in the 15th century, this type of bridge dates from the early 19th century...
".