Originally built as a private mansion and completed between 1826 and 1827, the Old Parliament House was Singapore’s first courthouse, which was later turned into the Assembly House and in 1965, the Parliament House. Located at the front of the building is a bronze elephant statue, a gift from King Chulalongkorn of Siam (Thailand) when he visited Singapore in 1871. The Old Parliament House is now known as the Arts House. The Supreme Court was opened on 3 August 1939 by Sir Shenton Thomas, Governor of the Straits Settlements. The building was designed by architect F. Dorrington Ward, while the Corinthian and Ionic columns as well as the frieze were the handiwork of Italian sculptor Calvalieri Rudolfo Nolli. This photograph was donated by Si Jing (pen name of Ng Soo Lui), a prolific female writer in the Chinese community who has written extensively on her childhood and life in Chinatown. Her husband, Huang Da Li, was an amateur photographer.
