Completed in 1939, the Cathay Building was the first high-rise building in Singapore. Designed by Frank Brewer, it had a 1300-seat cinema with black marble pillars, green-tiled floors and gold ceilings. Restaurants and luxury apartments were added by 1941. During the Japanese Occupation, it was used by the Japanese for broadcasting and propaganda purposes. Subsequently, it served as the headquarters of Admiral Lord Louis Mountbatten, the Supreme Allied Commander after Singapore was handed back to the British. Today, the brown-tiled facade has been restored. Renamed ‘The Cathay’, a shopping mall and an eight-screen cineplex are now occupied within this historic building.
