Keong Saik Road is a one-way road

Road

A road is a thoroughfare, route, or way on land between two places, which typically has been paved or otherwise improved to allow travel by some conveyance, including a horse, cart, or motor vehicle. Roads consist of one, or sometimes two, roadways each with one or more lanes and also any...

 located in Chinatown

Chinatown, Singapore

Singapore's Chinatown is an ethnic neighbourhood featuring distinctly Chinese cultural elements and a historically concentrated ethnic Chinese population. Chinatown is located within the larger district of Outram....

 within the Outram Planning Area

Outram, Singapore

Outram is a district in Singapore, within the Central Area, relatively near the prominent city centre and financial districts, but is nearer the border of the Central Area, and outside the Downtown Core. Outram is served by extensive public transport, including SBS Transit and a Mass Rapid Transit ...

 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 road links 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...

 to Neil Road

Neil Road

Neil Road is a one-way road in Chinatown and Tanjong Pagar in the planning areas of Outram and Bukit Merah in Singapore. The road starts at the junction of South Bridge Road, Maxwell Road and Tanjong Pagar Road and ends at Jalan Bukit Merah which then merges into the latter...

, and is intersected by Kreta Ayer Road

Kreta Ayer Road

Kreta Ayer Road is a one-way road located in Chinatown within the Outram Planning Area in Singapore. The road links Neil Road to New Bridge Road and Eu Tong Sen Street, and is intersected by Keong Saik Road.-Etymology and history:...

.

Etymology and history

Keong Saik Road was named in 1926 after the Malacca

Malacca

Malacca , dubbed The Historic State or Negeri Bersejarah among locals) is the third smallest Malaysian state, after Perlis and Penang. It is located in the southern region of the Malay Peninsula, on the Straits of Malacca. It borders Negeri Sembilan to the north and the state of Johor to the south...

-born Chinese

Chinese people

The term Chinese people may refer to any of the following:*People with Han Chinese ethnicity ....

 businessman, Tan Keong Saik

Tan Keong Saik

Tan Keong Saik was a Singaporean businessman who contributed much to the social and intellectual life of the Chinese community at the turn of the 19th century. He was one of the men who contributed to the setting up of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in 1906...

, the son of Tan Choon Tian. The street in Chinatown is named in remembrance to his contribution to the Chinese community.

Keong Saik Road became a prominent red-light district

Red-light district

A red-light district is a part of an urban area where there is a concentration of prostitution and sex-oriented businesses, such as sex shops, strip clubs, adult theaters, etc...

 with a high concentration of brothel

Brothel

Brothels are business establishments where patrons can engage in sexual activities with prostitutes. Brothels are known under a variety of names, including bordello, cathouse, knocking shop, whorehouse, strumpet house, sporting house, house of ill repute, house of prostitution, and bawdy house...

s located in the three-storey high shophouse

Shophouse

A shophouse is a vernacular architectural building type that is commonly seen in areas such as urban Southeast Asia. This hybrid building form characterises the historical centres of most towns and cities in the region.- Design and features :...

s 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. 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

Art gallery

An art gallery or art museum is a building or space for the exhibition of art, usually visual art.Museums can be public or private, but what distinguishes a museum is the ownership of a collection...

 and other shops

Retailing

Retail consists of the sale of physical goods or merchandise from a fixed location, such as a department store, boutique or kiosk, or by mail, in small or individual lots for direct consumption by the purchaser. Retailing may include subordinated services, such as delivery. Purchasers may be...

 for commercial

Commerce

While business refers to the value-creating activities of an organization for profit, commerce means the whole system of an economy that constitutes an environment for business. The system includes legal, economic, political, social, cultural, and technological systems that are in operation in any...

 use.

Keong Saik Road is located within a conservation area

Conservation areas in Singapore

Conservation areas of Singapore are built-up areas in Singapore accorded protection from unauthorised destruction or alterations by law. There are presently 71 such areas, involving about 6,500 buildings across the city.-List of conservation areas:...

 known as the Bukit Pasoh Conservation Area, which was given conservation

Architectural conservation

Architectural conservation describes the process through which the material, historical, and design integrity of mankind's built heritage are prolonged through carefully planned interventions. The individual engaged in this pursuit is known as an architectural conservator...

 status by the Urban Redevelopment Authority

Urban Redevelopment Authority

The Urban Redevelopment Authority is the national urban planning authority of Singapore, and a statutory board under the Ministry of National Development of the Singapore Government.-Mission:The authority was established on 1 April 1974, and is of especially critical importance to the city-state,...

 on 7 July 1989. The buildings in the area mainly consist of two and three storey shophouses in transitional, late and art deco

Art Deco

Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...

 architectural styles.

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.