Hill Street Building, Singapore
Copyright © Timothy Tye.
Hill Street Building
140 Hill Street
The Old Hill Street Police Station Building, also called the Old Hill Street Police Station, is a heritage building in Singapore. Its distinctive feature are the colourful window shutters, so painted to reflect Singapore's multi-cultural heritage. The Old Hill Street Police Station is located at Hill Street in the Museum Planning Area, within the Central Area of Singapore's central business district.
The Old Hill Street Police Station Building was designed by F. Dorrington Ward, the Government Architect attached to the Public Workds Department. It was built in the Neo-Classical style fashionable for public buildings in the 1930s. At the time it was constructed, the six-storey building was the largest building in Singapore to be built up to that time, and due to it's "height", was even regarded as a "skyscraper" in its time. It was considered "state-of-the-art" and was among the finest structures in Singapore. It was also one of the first to be fitted with electric lifts since 1933.
The Old Hill Street Police Station stands on the site of Singapore's first jail. During the Japanese Occupation, it was used as the holding area for the Japanese secret police, the Kempeitai. After the war, the building once again was used as police station. The Arms and Explosives Branch of the Police Department operated there from 1949 to 1981.
Today the Old Hill Street Police Station Building is occupied by the Ministry of Information, Communication and the Arts, MICA, and is therefore known nowadays as the MICA Building. Also occupying it is the National Arts Council, National Heritage Board and the Media Development Authority.
Hill Street Building was gazetted a National Monument of Singapore on 18 December, 1998.
Another view of the Old Hill Street Police Station Building
Copyright © Timothy Tye.
