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.
