Orchard Road Market

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Orchard Road Market used to occupy the site where Orchard Point is located today. It was a popular market in the 1960s selling fresh produce to residents. It was built in 1891, and was torn down by the Urban Redevelopment Authority, and replaced by Orchard Point in 1982.

History
The site, where the Orchard Road Market used to stand, was part of William Cuppage's estate in 1837. Cuppage's son-in-law, Edwin Koek, inherited the estate in the 1860s. The original structure on the site was called Koek's Market. Soon after its completion in 1880, it was leased to the Municipal Authorities and became known as Orchard Road Municipal Market. When the Municipality bought the land in 1890, it tore down the building and built a new one in its place in 1891. The new market originally consisted of only one wing but extensive renovations took place later and these caused the building to be almost totally transformed. In 1910 an additional wing and a concrete frontage were added. As the area was prone to flooding, the structure was raised a few years later to eliminate flooding of the market. In 1930 a new building costing $25,000 was built in front of the existing one. In spite of all these renovations and additions, the Orchard Road Market still retained the original cast-iron structure into the 1970s when it was demolished.

There used to be an imposing six metre tall cast-iron fountain originating from Glasgow placed in front of the Orchard Road Market. It originally stood in the centre of Telok Ayer Market but was relocated to Orchard Road Market in 1902. The fountain, which had seen better days but restored, now graces the courtyard of the Raffles Hotel. 



Author
Marsita Omar



References
Liu, Gretchen. (1992). Raffles Hotel (p. 212). Singapore: Landmark Books.
(Call No.: RSING q647.94595701 LIU)

Liu, Gretchen. (1999). Singapore: A pictorial history 1819-2000 (pp.128-129). Singapore: Archipelago Press in association with the National Heritage Board.
(Call no.: RSING 959.57 LIU-[HIS])

Singapore retrospect through postcards, 1900-1930 (p. 72). (1982). Singapore: Sin Chew Jit Poh [and] Archives and Oral History Dept.
(Call no.: RSING 769.4995957 SIN)

Tyers, Ray. (1993). Ray Tyers' Singapore: Then & now (pp.162 & 164). Singapore: Landmarks Books.
(Call no.: RSING 959.57 TYE-[HIS])



The information in this article is valid as at 2008 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.     

Subject
Architecture and Landscape>>Building Types>>Commercial Buildings
Markets--Singapore
Arts>>Architecture>>Public and commercial buildings