The site of the Old Supreme Court Building opposite the Padang along St. Andrew’s Road was first occupied by the house of James Clarke of Guthrie and Company and later that of Edward Boustead of Boustead and Company, two of early Singapore’s prominent merchants. Boustead’s home, built in 1823, subsequently housed various hotel establishments, namely the London Hotel, Hotel de l'Esperance and the Hotel de l'Europe. The structure was demolished in 1900 to make way for the Grand Hotel de l'Europe, which was completed in 1905. The luxury hotel was in turn demolished in 1936 to make way for the Supreme Court Building, which was designed by Frank Dorrington-Ward, chief architect of the Public Works Department. Opened in 1939, it was to be the last classical-style building erected in Singapore.
