Tiong Bahru
Conserved 1930s Art Deco housing estate with a heritage trail and market
Tiong Bahru is a residential neighbourhood in the Bukit Merah planning area, known for the Art Deco flats that the Singapore Improvement Trust, the colonial predecessor to the HDB, built there from 1936 to 1940. The name pairs the Hokkien word for a grave with the Malay word bahru, a reminder that the area was dotted with graves before the estate went up. On 1 December 2003 the Urban Redevelopment Authority gave conservation status to the pre-war flats and shophouses bounded by Seng Poh Road, Outram Road and Tiong Poh Road, so the blocks keep the bold lines and curves of their 1930s design.
Most visits start at Tiong Bahru Market at 30 Seng Poh Road, whose market and food centre is also the first stop on the National Heritage Board's self-guided Tiong Bahru Heritage Trail. The trail links 10 points around the estate, including Tiong Bahru Qi Tian Gong, a temple to the Monkey God that was founded in 1920 in a small attap hut. The streets are compact and easy to walk, and the first stop has a storyboard on the history of the estate and its market. Tiong Bahru MRT station on the East West Line is about 500 metres west of the market.
Highlights
Art Deco flats built from 1936 to 1940
Conservation status since 1 December 2003
10-point NHB heritage trail starting at the market
About 500 m from Tiong Bahru MRT station
Practical Info
Address
Tiong Bahru Estate, around Seng Poh Road and Tiong Poh Road, Singapore
In This Destination
Central Region
Museums, temples, heritage quarters and the Southern Ridges hill parks