This picture was most likely taken from the top of the Fullerton Building and shows the old civic quarters of the city centre on the north bank of the Singapore River. Prominent landmarks shown include: Cavenagh Bridge (right foreground), built in 1868 and named after then Colonel Orfeur Cavenagh, the last Governor of the Straits Settlements (1859-1867) appointed by the East India Company; Elgin Bridge (left background), the original structure being erected in 1863 and named after Lord Elgin, Governor General of India (1862-1863), before a new bridge with the same name replaced it in 1929; Empress Place Building (centre), erected in 1865 and initially referred to as Government Offices before it gained its new moniker after the public square in front of it was named after Queen Victoria in 1907; and Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall (right centre), originally known as the Town Hall and the Victoria Memorial Hall when the two structures were completed in 1861 and 1905 respectively.
