 [Bonny].JPG)
Cathay Building, located at the foot of Mount Sophia, was once the tallest building in Singapore. It used to house the popular Cathay Cinema as well as the famous Cathay Hotel and Cathay Restaurant. The cinema was opened in 1939 while the main tower was completed in 1941. During World War II, the building served as the “brain centre” for the colonial government, functioning similarly for the Japanese forces during the Japanese Occupation (1942-1945). On 10 February 2003, it was gazetted as a national monument of Singapore.
Background
At the foot of Mount Sophia (Bukit Seligi) in the Dhoby Ghaut area, there once stood a Victorian-style building which housed the family of prominent businessman Teo Hoo Lye. Its ground floor was occupied by Louis Molteni's bakery and confectionary. This building stood for more than 40 years before it was demolished in 1934. The property was purchased by the family of the late Loke Yew in 1937 and the land cleared for the construction of Cathay Building.
The 16-storey building was designed by architect Frank Brewer and cost $1 million to build. Sitting on a solid rock foundation on the slopes of Mount Sophia, it was the tallest building (measuring 83.51m from Dhoby Ghaut to the top of the building's water tower) in Singapore until the Asia Insurance Building was completed in 1954.
History
Formation years
Cathay Cinema, located in the front block, was the first section to be completed in 1939. The 1,321-seat cinema with black marble pillars, green tiled floors and gold ceilings opened on 3 October 1939. It was the first public space to be air-conditioned in Singapore. The opening movie was Four Feathers which starred Ralph Richardson and C. Audrey Smith. The band from the 2nd Battalion (North Lancashire) Royal Regiment performed before the 9:15 pm movie premiere.
Cathay Restaurant located in the front block on the fifth floor was opened in early 1941 while the main block was completed in August 1941. The main tower stood above the cinema and restaurant and had a total of 80 apartments.
World War II
By early December 1941, Cathay Cinema was one of the few places left for relaxation in those anxious times, screening movies despite dwindling audiences. With the war imminent, the main building was rented out to the government and the British Malaya Broadcasting Corporation. Five floors were occupied by broadcast studios and administration, and two floors by the Ministry of Economic Warfare, while the Royal Air Force occupied two rooms on another floor. Cathay Building became the “brain centre” for the government.
During the initial air raids and before Singapore fell to the Japanese, the building's ground floor was used by nearby residents as an air-raid shelter. On 8 February 1942, when the Japanese accelerated their attacks on Singapore, the radio station actively broadcast updates on enemy advances from their studios at the building. It has been estimated that the cinema was hit by at least 14 shells in February 1942, with one striking on the 15th after noon, killing a few Australians who were in the hall at the time. The cinema hall was then being used for shelter and refuge. Singapore fell into enemy hands that evening.
During the Japanese Occupation, the Japanese Broadcasting Department moved into the building, took over the existing broadcasting facilities and, in March 1942, began Radio Syonan's transmissions from here. Later, their Propaganda Department Headquarters and Military Information Bureau were stationed here too. The restaurant became the dining room for Japanese military officers stationed in the building. Occasional movie screenings were held for the public but these films were from existing stock in the storerooms. The fourth-floor preview theatre screened American movies exclusively for Japanese officers. Outside the building, there were human heads stuck on poles; these were beheaded looters and other victims of the Japanese military.
After liberation
When the war was over, former staff were rounded up to help open the cinema again. At 3 pm, on 23 September 1945, the public saw its first post-war movie Desert Victory. With the Pavilion and Alhambra Theatres reserved for the services personnel, and Capitol out of action because of a fire, Cathay Cinema became the centre for film entertainment in post-war Singapore.
Cathay Building became the headquarters for Admiral Lord Louis Mountbatten, Supreme Allied Commander, South-east Asia from November 1945 to November 1946. It was also the headquarters of Governor General Malcolm MacDonald and Special Commissioner Lord Killearn. Other occupants included the Far Eastern Disposal Board and the British Malaya Broadcasting Corporation (which resumed broadcasts on the demise of Radio Syonan). Also here were the Navy Intelligence Branch and the American Club (1946-1953).
The building’s owner Cathay Organisation eventually regained control of the building and on 2 May 1948, Cathay Restaurant was reopened. On 9 January 1954, Cathay Hotel opened with 60 rooms, eventually expanding to 170 rooms. The hotel was one of the prime meeting places for celebrities, tourists and families. It had a restaurant and nightclub, swimming pool and shopping arcade.
1960s onwards
In the 1960s, Brewer's façade design, of distinctive overhangs above the windows, was replaced by a metal cladding. Subsequently a glut of hotel space led to the closure of Cathay Hotel on 30 December 1970. By July 1974, the hotel’s ten floors had been converted into office premises, with the filling in of all the balconies and bay windows. It was the headquarters of Cathay Organisation until just before its redevelopment.
A 12-storey annexe building, with seven levels of carparking space, opened on 14 May 1970. The five floors above the carpark were the Cathay Apartments, completed in November 1971.
A new building extension was later added next to Cathay Building. It housed a restaurant and a small cinema called Picturehouse which specialised in art films. The new cinema was opened on 17 November 1990, with an initial ticket charge of $6 per person.
In 1999, Cathay Organisation put up a $100 million plan to redevelop Cathay Building. While waiting for the plan to be approved by the Urban Redevelopment Authority, Cathay Organisation was informed by the Preservation of Monuments Board (PMB) that the building had been identified as a possible landmark for preservation because of its history, especially with regard to events which took place there during World War II. The cinemas at the building had their final curtain call on 30 June 2000.
In November 2000, PMB introduced a new monument-preservation scheme that allowed the partial redevelopment of historical buildings which were privately owned and being used commercially. Cathay Building and MacDonald House became the first to be gazetted under this new scheme on 10 February 2003. In the case of Cathay Building, the art-deco style façade of the building was to be preserved while the rest of the building would be redeveloped.
The redeveloped Cathay Building was officially opened on 24 March 2006 and renamed The Cathay. The new complex was designed by Japanese architect Paul Tange of Tange Associates. The key feature of the building is a glass façade, which incorporates the original brown-tiled façade of the old Cathay Building. Within the complex, there is a shopping mall, which takes up the first four floors of the building, and a cineplex. The cineplex includes the plush Grand Cathay, which is the biggest hall in the cineplex, and the Picturehouse, which continues to show art house fares. On the second floor of the shopping mall, there is a history gallery called the Cathay Gallery showcasing the history of Cathay Building and the Loke family. The rest of the building consists of a residential block.
Authors
Vernon Cornelius-Takahama & Ong Eng Chuan
References
Beamish, J. (1985). A history of Singapore architecture: The making of a city (pp. 142, 149). Singapore: G. Brash.
(Call no.: RSING 722.4095957 BE)
Brazil, D. (1991). Street smart: Singapore. Singapore: Times Books International.
(Call no.: RSING 959.57 BRA-[HIS])
Cheah, U. H., & Nayar, P. (2000, November 2). Practical approach adopted to preserve buildings. The Business Times. Retrieved August 13, 2007, from Factiva.
Cheah, U. H. (2006, October 13). Take a walk down S'pore's cinematic memory lane. The Business Times. Retrieved August 13, 2007, from Factiva.
Government Gazette (GN no. S60/2003). (2003, February 10). Singapore: Singapore National Printers.
Ho, M. (2000, July 1). Last movie show at the old Cathay. The Straits Times. Retrieved January 20, 2011, from NewspaperSG.
Leong W. K. (2000, April 6). Landmark building may yet be saved. The Straits Times. Retrieved January 20, 2011, from NewspaperSG.
Lim, K. T. (1991). Cathay: 55 years of cinema (pp. 3, 5, 15, 97-98, 100, 101, 107, 108, 110). Singapore: Landmark Books.
(Call no.: RSING 791.43095957 LIM)
Monuments board aims to do what's right. (2000, April 22). The Business Times. Retrieved August 13, 2007, from Factiva.
Ong, S. F. (2006, March 15). Screen test. The Straits Times. Retrieved January 20, 2011, from NewspaperSG.
Ong, S. F. (2006 March 25). The Cathay reopens. The Straits Times. Retrieved August 13, 2007, from Factiva.
Rashiwala, K. (2000, February 19). Cathay Building is to be redeveloped for S$100m. The Business Times. Retrieved August 13, 2007, from Factiva.
Tong, K. (2000, April 4). Akan datang: Cathay's new home. The Straits Times. Retrieved January 20, 2011, from NewspaperSG.
Tong, K. (2000, April 4). Curtains to fall on Cathay Building. The Straits Times. Retrieved January 20, 2011, from NewspaperSG.
Further readings
Cathay Building and YMCA Orchard had a grim past. (1995, July 31). The Straits Times. Retrieved January 20, 2011, from NewspaperSG.
Former Cathay Building (now The Cathay). (2010). Retrieved October 25, 2010, from Preservation of Monuments Board website: http://www.pmb.sg/
Upmarket cinema The Picturehouse opening on Nov 17. (1990, November 1). The Straits Times. Retrieved August 13, 2007, from Factiva.
The information in this article is valid as at 2007 and correct as far as we are able to ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history of the subject. Please contact the Library for further reading materials on the topic.
