This postcard shows two contrasting views of the Central Business District (CBD) waterfront taken at different points in time. The top view was most probably taken in the 1960s and shows prominent landmarks such as (from left to right): the Asia Insurance Building with its stepped roof; the Ocean Building with its distinctive tower; the Moorish-inspired Alkaff Arcade; the 15-storey Shell House that opened in 1960 behind Clifford Pier; the Maritime Building and Hongkong and Shanghai Bank Building with their neoclassical facades; and the Fullerton Building, which was opened in 1928 and subsequently used to house government offices and the General Post Office.The bottom view was likely taken in the late 1980s and shows the dramatic changes that were made to the CBD skyline in the past two decades as a result of the government’s urban renewal scheme for the city centre. The most notable building to be erected was the 63-storey Overseas Union Bank (OUB) Centre (right background). Built at a cost of $500 million to house the bank’s headquarters, the 280-metre-high structure was then the tallest building in Asia and the eleventh highest in the world when it was completed in November 1986. The only prominent old landmarks then still standing were (from left to right) the Asia Insurance Building, Clifford Pier and Fullerton Building.
