South Bridge Road
Encyclopedia
Singapore River
The Singapore River is a river in Singapore with great historical importance. The Singapore River flows from the Central Area, which lies in the Central Region in the southern part of Singapore before emptying into the ocean...
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....
, 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...
which starts from Elgin Bridge
Elgin Bridge
Elgin Bridge is a vehicular bridge across the Singapore River, linking the Downtown Core to the Singapore River Planning Area located within Singapore's Central Area....
and ends at the junction of 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...
, Tanjong Pagar Road and Maxwell Road.
The road was built by convict labour in 1833 which started at the south of Thomson Bridge (now the Elgin Bridge) where it took its name from and the road is the extension of North Bridge Road
North Bridge Road
North Bridge Road is a road in Singapore north of Singapore River, that starts at the junction of Crawford Street and ends before Elgin Bridge, which the road becomes South Bridge Road. The road is one of the oldest roads in Singapore and was outlined in Raffles' 1822 Town Plan...
which starts from Crawford Street to the north of Elgin Bridge. From 1885 to 1894, steam tramway
Tram
A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
s plied the full length of the road from the town area to the New Harbour (now known as the Keppel Harbour
Keppel Harbour
Keppel Harbour is a stretch of water in Singapore between the mainland and the southern islands of Pulau Brani and Sentosa. Its naturally sheltered and deep waters was to meet the requirements of British colonists attempting to establish a Far East maritime colony in that part of the world, and...
). As the tram
Tram
A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
s could not face the competition of rickshaws, they then ceased operations. The Singapore Electric Train Company had its tram
Tram
A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
s running along the road from 1905 to 1927. Trolley buses also used South Bridge Road as one of their routes which they competed with the "mosquito bus" until 1962 when the current motor bus
Bus
A bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. Buses can have a capacity as high as 300 passengers. The most common type of bus is the single-decker bus, with larger loads carried by double-decker buses and articulated buses, and smaller loads carried by midibuses and minibuses; coaches are...
system was introduced.
The Chinese
Singaporean Chinese
Singaporean Chinese may refer to:* Chinese Singaporean, the citizens or residents of Singapore who are of Chinese ancestry* Singaporean Mandarin, the dialect of Mandarin Chinese spoken in Singapore...
call the road ta ma lo or "great horseway" as well as chat bok koi or "paint wood street". "Paint wood street" refers to where there is a police
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
court and the river. The road is also known as gu chia chui tua be chia lo in Hokkien
Min Nan
The Southern Min languages, or Min Nan , are a family of Chinese languages spoken in southern Fujian, eastern Guangdong, Hainan, Taiwan, and southern Zhejiang provinces of China, and by descendants of emigrants from these areas in diaspora....
which means "big horse (carriage) road in Kreta Ayer". The Tamils
Tamil people
Tamil people , also called Tamils or Tamilians, are an ethnic group native to Tamil Nadu, India and the north-eastern region of Sri Lanka. Historic and post 15th century emigrant communities are also found across the world, notably Malaysia, Singapore, Mauritius, South Africa, Australia, Canada,...
refer to it as "kalapithi kadei sadakku" களப்பத்துக் கடை சடக்கு or Cawker's Shop Street.
Landmarks
- Elgin BridgeElgin BridgeElgin Bridge is a vehicular bridge across the Singapore River, linking the Downtown Core to the Singapore River Planning Area located within Singapore's Central Area....
- Eu Yan SangEu Yan SangEu Yan Sang is a company that specialises in traditional Chinese medicine. It currently runs more than 160 retail outlets in Hong Kong, Macau, China, Malaysia, and Singapore, plus two factories in Hong Kong and Malaysia...
- Fook Hai Building
- Hong Lim Complex
- Jamae Mosque ஜமாஆ பள்ளிவாசல்
- Maxwell Food Centre
- One George StreetOne George StreetOne George Street is a 23-storey Grade A office tower in Raffles Place, Singapore. The office tower sits on the site of the now demolished Pidemco Centre and faces Hong Lim Park. It is owned by CapitaLand Commercial and ERGO, a German insurance corporation. Built at a cost of S$191 million,...
(or ERGOERGO Insurance GroupERGO is one of the major insurance groups in Europe. Worldwide, ERGO is represented in more than 30 countries and concentrates on Europe and Asia. In Europe, ERGO claims to be no. 1 in the health and legal expenses insurance segments, and in its home market of Germany it is among the market leaders...
insurance building; formerly Pidemco Centre) - Sri Mariamman Temple ஸ்ரீ மாரியம்மன் கோயில்