Orchard Heritage Trail - Communities and Cemeteries

Estimated Trail Distance: 3.6 km
Dhoby Ghaut
Places
Dhoby Ghaut

In the early 1800s, the Orchard Road area was considered as belonging to the outskirts of town, as the commercial centre of Singapore then was located by the Singapore River.

Orchard Road Presbyterian Church
Places
Orchard Road Presbyterian Church

Built in 1878, the Orchard Road Presbyterian Church is the oldest church at Orchard Road.

Built in an Edwardian-style brick structure in 1911, the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) is one of the oldest surviving community organisation in the area.
Places
YMCA

Built in an Edwardian-style brick structure in 1911, the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) is one of the oldest surviving community organisation in the area.

Dhoby Ghaut Green
Places
Dhoby Ghaut Green

Dhoby Ghaut Green, developed by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) in 2009, serves as a community and events space above Dhoby Ghaut MRT.

Red Cross House
Places
Red Cross House

Orchard Road is home to the Singapore Red Cross (SRC), which was founded in 1949.

House of Tan Yeok Nee
Places
House of Tan Yeok Nee

Tan Yeok Nee was a Teochew pioneer and a major gambier merchant whose plantations were mostly located in Johor, Malaya.

Cuppage Terrace
Places
Cuppage Terrace

Cuppage Terrace consists of a row of 17 Malacca-style terrace houses built in 1905-07 by Boey Lian Chin, who was the managing director of the (now defunct) Kwong Yik Banking Corporation.

Sian Teck Tng Temple
Places
Sian Teck Tng

Sian Teck Tng (“Hall of Good Merit” in Teochew) was built in 1904 as a zhaitang (or vegetarian convent) for female devotees.

Emerald Hill
Places
Emerald Hill

Emerald Hill was the site of a former nutmeg orchard which started to take shape as a residential neighbourhood in the early 1900s.

Singapore Chinese Girls' School
Places
Former Singapore Chinese Girls' School

One of the oldest schools in the area was the Singapore Chinese Girls’ School (SCGS), founded in 1899 by Dr Lim Boon Keng, lawyer Song Ong Siang and scholar Khoo Seok Wan to provide Chinese girls with modern education.

Heeren Building
Places
The Heeren

An early mixed-use building in the Orchard Road area was built by businessman Chee Swee Cheng at the junction of Cairnhill Road in 1931.

Masjid Al Falah
Places
Masjid Al Falah

Masjid Al-Falah was established in 1987 to cater to the Muslim community working and living in or visiting the Orchard Road area.

Ngee Ann City
Places
Ngee Ann City

Ngee Ann City is sited on the location of a former Teochew cemetery, Tai Shan Ting.

Tang Plaza
Places
Tang Plaza

During the 1950s, the Scotts Road side of Orchard Road was a quiet neighbourhood.

This is a self-guided trail.

  1. Dhoby Ghaut
  2. Orchard Road Presbyterian Church
  3. YMCA
  4. Dhoby Ghaut Green
  5. Red Cross House
  6. House of Tan Yeok Nee
  7. Cuppage Terrace
  8. Sian Teck Tng
  9. Emerald Hill
  10. Former Singapore Chinese Girls' School
  11. The Heeren
  12. Masjid Al Falah
  13. Ngee Ann City
  14. Tang Plaza

Dhoby Ghaut
Orchard Road Presbyterian Church
Orchard Road Presbyterian Church
YMCA
Dhoby Ghaut Green
Red Cross House
House of Tan Yeok Nee
Cuppage Terrace
Sian Teck Tng Temple
Emerald Hill
Heeren Building
Masjid Al Falah
Ngee Ann City
Tang Plaza

Duration: 1 hour 15 min; on foot 

The Orchard Road of today is filled with shopping centres, restaurants and entertainment outlets, but the Orchard Road of the past had a different character and was dotted with places of worship, schools, homes, community organisations and cemeteries. This route features residential and community sites of Orchard Road.

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