Originally located at the Padang, the statue of Sir Stamford Raffles was moved to Empress Place during the Centenary Celebrations - 100 years after Raffles founded modern Singapore - on 6 February 1919. The statue was placed in front of the Victoria Memorial Hall, framed by a semi-circular colonnade of the Italian Doric order and positioned to face a marble-lined pool with fountain jets. The statue survived World War II unscathed although it was briefly moved to the National Museum and the colonnade was destroyed during the war.
