The Municipal Building at St. Andrew’s Road was completed in 1929 to house various government offices. Renamed City Hall (right) when Singapore was proclaimed a city by a Royal Charter issued in 1951, the building was the site of many historic events, notably the Japanese surrender ceremony to the British in 1945 and the declaration of Singapore’s independence in 1963. The building underwent renovations in 1987 and was subsequently used by the judiciary to house courtrooms and the Academy of Law. Adjacent to City Hall is the Old Supreme Court Building (left), situated on the site where the Hotel de l'Europe once stood. Designed by Frank Dorrington-Ward, chief architect of the Public Works Department, the building was officially opened in 1939 and was the last classical-style structure erected in colonial Singapore. The structure housed the Supreme Court until 2005, when the Court moved to the new Supreme Court Building located just behind the old building. Both City Hall and the Old Supreme Court Building have been earmarked to house the new National Art Gallery of Singapore.
