The Fullerton Hotel, situated at Fullerton Square, next to Raffles Place, was originally a public institution known as the Fullerton Building. Named after Robert Fullerton, the Governor of Singapore from 1826 to 1830, the original building was located at the site of Fort Fullerton, built at the mouth of the Singapore River to defend the island.
Early History
The building was constructed during the period 1925-1928, to the neoclassical design of Keyes and Dowdeswell, a Shanghai based firm of architects who won the architectural competition for the project. Its first occupants were the Exchange, the Chamber of Commerce, and the Singapore Club; now called the Singapore Town Club. In 1942, various Government departments, which included the Agriculture, Fisheries and Forest departments, were housed here. The building was then used as a hospital just before the British surrender to the Japanese in 1942. The Income Tax Department (starting late 1948), Ministry of Finance and the Economic Development Board later occupied it. The General Post Office (GPO) was its last occupant until March 1996.
Hotel History
In 1997, the 72 year old building, along with a piece of the waterfront was acquired, by Sino Land, the Hong Kong arm of the Far East Organisation, at a cost of S$110 million for development into a hotel. Renovation works costing a total of S$400 million were carried out over three years on the building, with only minor alterations to the exterior as stipulated by URA conservation guidelines. The acquired waterfront parcel was developed into a two-storey commercial complex; One Fullerton which is linked via a subway to Fullerton Hotel.
Interesting features found during work on the Fullerton Building include an old postal tunnel that led all the way out to the sea for postal boats to deliver and collect mail and the partially water-submerged raft foundation under the building that rendered it effectively floating. The building's old lighthouse that used to guide ships out in the harbour has been converted into a food and beverage outlet.
The eight-storey, 399 room, six-star hotel was designed by Hirsch Bedner Associates, include many modern day frills, and costs between $450 to $5,000 per night stay. Works were completed on 8 December 2000 and the Fullerton Hotel was officially opened by PM Goh Chok Tong on 1 January 2001, after the Fullerton's New Year eve party countdown.
Author
Phyllis Wee
References
Dunlop, P. K. G. (2000). Street names of Singapore (p. 89). Singapore: Who's Who.
(Call no.: SING 959.57 DUN)
Samuel, D. S. (1991). Singapore's heritage: Through places of historical interest. Singapore: Elixir Consultancy Service.
(Call no.: SING 959.57 SAM)
Tyers, R. (1993). Ray Tyers Singapore: Then & now. Singapore: Landmark Books.
(Call no.: SING 959.57 TYE)
Leong, P. (2000, April 12). Hotel project preserves hallmarks of Fullerton Building. The Straits Times, Home, p. 43.
Nayar, P. (2000, October 27). A grand lady set to emerge. The Business Times, Executive Lifestyles, p. 1.
Tan, C. (2000, December 14). Fullerton. The Straits Times, Money, p. 12.
The Fullerton Singapore. (n.d.). Our history. Retrieved December 10, 2002, from www.fullertonhotel.com/Page.asp?SID=54&SSID=56
