Situated at the junction of Geylang and Tanjong Katong Roads, the Lion City Hotel was one of the many properties established around the outlying city area during the hotel construction boom of the late 1960s and 1970s. Opened in August 1968 by then Minister for Finance Dr. Goh Keng Swee, the construction of the $4.2 million property was commissioned by local firm Wee Thiam Siew Co. Ltd to tap into the growing tourist demand for modern accommodations. Designed by architectural firm Ho Kwong Yew and Sons, the ten-storey property had 168 rooms each equipped with modern amenities such as a telephone, three-channel sound system, and attached bathroom. Housed within the hotel complex were facilities such as a bank, restaurants, snack bar, cocktail lounge and a large shopping arcade that had an emporium selling China-made goods. In 2011, the UOL Group acquired the site where the hotel and the adjoining Hollywood Theatre stood for $313 million. The group subsequently announced plans to redevelop the site into a residential and commercial complex.
